Temperature soars to 45 degrees as Greece faces worst heat wave in 30 years

Greece is presently facing the worst heatwave in over 30 years, said the country’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on August 2 as the temperatures recorded were as high as 45 degrees Celsius in some of the regions. Mitsotakis’ remarks came as firefighters across the European nation struggled to get hundreds of wildfires under control.

He told the journalists, “We are facing the worst heatwave since 1987... [causing] a burden on the electricity network” referring to the time when July 1987 heatwave killed over 1,000 people. Weather forecasters have also predicted that the temperatures will further peak later this week. 

The heatwave baking southeast Europe has triggered deadly wildfires in Turkey while also threatening the national power grid in Greece as governments across the region scrambled on Monday to secure resources that are required to tackle the crisis. In inland areas of Greece, the temperatures sky-rocketed to 113 Fahrenheit and nearby countries and are expected to remain high for most of the week. Emergency has also been declared in the fire-hit areas on the island of Rhodes in Greece. 

As per the Associated Press report, the workers with health conditions were allowed to take time off from work while the Greek coal-fired power stations slated for retirement were shifted back to service to shore up the national grid under pressure. Pregnant women and other vulnerable workers were directed to remain indoors. 

Heatwave is ‘not at all unexpected’

Dann Mitchell, a professor of climate science at the University of Bristol reportedly said that the heatwave in southeast Europe “is not at all unexpected, and very likely enhanced due to human-induced climate change.” He further told the outlet, “The number of extreme heat events around the world is increasing year on year, with the top 10 hottest years on record all occurring since 2005.”

“This year, we have seen a number of significant events, including a particularly dramatic heatwave in western Canada and the U.S., that was extreme even for current levels of climate change,” Mitchell said. “These black swan events have always happened, but now they sit on the background of a hotter climate, so are even more deadly.”

(IMAGE: AP)