Greece wildfires: PM Mitsotakis says radical shifts in behaviour can tackle global warming

Citing the Greece wildfires that ravaged more than a quarter of a million acres of forests in the Southern European country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday emphasised the need for 'radical shifts in behaviour to tackle the menace of global warming.' The disaster as of now has taken the lives of two while injuring more than 20.

"Everything needs to change to minimise the effects of climate crisis"

While responding to the criticism on the government's response to the wildfires at a Parliament discussion, the Greek PM stated that everything needs to change in order to minimise the effects of the climate crisis. Referring to global warming as a crisis that has changed the way humans live today, PM Mitsotakis stated that dealing with the crisis is forcing all to change every course of life, even the way people are producing agricultural products and the ways in which they move around. He shed light on how this phenomenon has changed the way humans generate energy and the way they build their homes.

Greece wildfires create havoc 

The Greek inferno that had begun nearly a month back has lighted the island of Evia and areas of the Peloponnese, including the Archaeological Site of Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the most famous and important sporting event in the ancient world.

Mitsotakis who had earlier sought a public apology for the disaster told other politicos that the move was 'a call for action' to swiftly handle such phenomena in the days to come. "The government was called to put out 1,279 wildfires. We had successfully tackled the majority of the fire, in the beginning, however, some got away. Our readiness was not enough," PM Mitsotakis said.

Our top priority was to save lives: Greek PM Mitsotakis

Meanwhile, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis restated that his government's top priority during the wildfires was to save the lives of the people. He also supported the role of the fire brigade and the civil protection services in their life-saving service.

Notably, the island Nation after 1987 for the first time has experienced the most heated summer during August with temperatures reaching 47 degrees Celcius. PM Mitsotakis has on the other hand allocated an aid of $587 million for Evia and the Attica region around Athens in Greece.

Picture credit: AP