British tourists put on alert as new Greece wildfires spread amid 44C heatwave – as blaze tears through capital Athens

British tourists have been put on alert as new Greece wildfires spread amid a 44C heatwave – as a blaze tears through the capital of Athens.

The southern European country was first hit with the scorching temperatures on Monday and they have not relented throughout this week. 

After the mercury hit a blistering 44C high in Athens on Tuesday, a wildfire has now burned through a northern suburb of the capital, on Saturday. 

Shocking pictures show homes ablaze while residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS warnings to evacuate. 

Some 145 firefighters, 44 fire engines, ten firefighting planes and seven helicopters remain on site, with Greece asking for six more such planes from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

At least five residents – most of them elderly, with respiratory problems – are being treated by ambulance staff. 

But Fire Service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakoyannis said ‘the real difficulties are ahead of us’, as the hot, dry, windy conditions ‘are expected to prevail over the coming days’. 

And indeed, some 52 wildfires have already broken out in just the last 24 hours – with British tourists under alert by the Foreign Office to be aware of their dangers. 

The Foreign Office updated its advice for British travellers to Greece at the start of this month, warning of the risk of wildfires. 

It notes: ‘Greece can experience extreme natural phenomena such as earthquakes, wildfires, extreme heat and flash floods…

‘There is a high risk of wildfires during the summer season from April to October.  

Advising how to enable emergency alerts from the Greek government for near where you are, it adds: ‘Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable. 

‘The situation can change quickly.’ 

It also recommends tourists consider packing a ‘grab bag’ of essentials, including passports, ID, phones, chargers, money, bank cards, insurance and other important documents and essential medicine and prescription details.

Of the fire in Athens, Mr Vathrakoyannis said: ‘There have been reports of damages. We will take stock when the fires have been put out.’

The exact origin of the fire is unknown – but temperatures reaching or exceeding 38C, dry conditions and high winds have been said to be fanning the flames.

Under such conditions, wildfires ‘expand very quickly and become dangerous’, he warned. 

Three other major fires have also broken out in other parts of the country, on the islands of Crete and nearby Kythera to the south and on Evia, north of Athens.

At least 335 firefighters, 19 planes and 13 helicopters are fighting the blazes – but they can only operate in daylight. 

The Greek government’s Emergency Communications Service has issued several place-specific warnings, ordering those in the area to evacuate. 

A blaze has broken out at the 400-bed Agios Andreas Hospital in the city of Patras, near Athens, on Saturday. 

The department has warned, as of Saturday evening: ‘Smoke in the surrounding area. Stay indoors, close doors and windows. Follow the instructions of the authorities.’ 

On Crete, anyone in the areas of Anidri, Achladiakes, Strati, Asfendiles, Platanes and Azogires has been ordered to evacuate to the town of Paleochora, as of Saturday evening. 

Anyone in the island’s village of Temenia has been told to move to nearby town Kandalos. 

Those in the Pei and Dokos areas of Evia have been told to evacuate to the nearby city of Chalkida.

Meanwhile, those in the island’s Pissonas area are ordered to move to the village of Katheni. 

In the southwestern region of Messinia, those in the Drosopigi and Malthi areas have been told to evacuate to the village of Mila. 

People in Chrisotopos and Revmatia, in the same part of the country, must move to the village of Zermpisia. 

Again in Messinia, those in the Aetos area should go to the town of Kopanaki. 

These are just the warnings issued over the last couple of hours, with many sent out to tourists and residents alike over the course of Saturday.  

Wildfires, many of them destructive, have become a common occurrence in Greece in recent years. 

The continent’s southernmost nation has always had hot and dry summers but is suffering increasingly devastating wildfires and scorching temperatures. 

Several blazes have broken out in the country in the past month as the whole of the Europe is hit with a red-hot heatwave this summer.

The EU’s fire monitoring system warns that the risk of yet more devastating blazes remains high as forecasters predict drier-than-average conditions for much of the continent through August. 

The high temperatures in Greece this week forced the iconic Acropolis, the country’s most visited ancient site, to close for five hours from midday on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, strict new rules were implemented to protect workers from the heat.

Couriers, food delivery riders and builders in the wider area of Athens and other regions were among those ordered to pause work from midday until 5pm. 

Workers with underlying health issues were advised to work remotely to avoid heat stress. 

National weather service EMY has said the heatwave that began on Monday is not expected to ease before Sunday. 

Temperatures were expected to increase throughout the week, after the scorching highs of 44C recorded in Athens on Tuesday. 

Similarly, across the Balkans, firefighters struggled to contain multiple blazes this week that threatened homes, nature reserves and tourist regions. 

Seven major fires were reported in North Macedonia, where temperatures of up to 42C were recorded on Tuesday.

Five fires were out of control in Albania where temperatures ranged from 37C to 41C on Monday.

In Croatia, a fire near the tourist town of Sibenik was being fought by dozens of civil emergency experts and six specialist planes. 

Some of the fires in North Macedonia had been burning for several days, notably one in the Ezerani natural park close to lake Prespa. 

The country’s mayors have complained they do not have enough resources to battle the fires.

According to the mayors’ association, the 400 firefighters in North Macedonia are half the number the law lays down as the minimum. 

Their vehicles are on average 27 years old.

Serbia was on a heat alert with highs around 38C on Monday but temperatures were expected to start falling. 

The country is already suffering from one of its worst droughts in living memory.

Northern Bosnia was also braced for temperatures of up to 40C.

Bulgarian authorities on Tuesday urged businesses to give away water and cut physical labour during high-risk hours.

Meanwhile, Spain struggled to quell a series of wildfires that have already burned through more than 70,000 hectares of land in recent weeks.

Firefighters managed to extinguish or control several blazes last weekend weekend but arid conditions sparked two fresh fires near the tourist hotspot of Malaga.

One punishing fire was recorded threatening the main entrance of the Andalucia Technology Park (PTA) in Campanillas, near Malaga city. 

Another was spotted in Casares, near the Ignacio Molina wind farm.

In both cases, firefighters and water-dropping helicopters were dispatched to calm the flames.

The Italian island of Sicily has also battled several wildfires, with soaring temperatures leading authorities to issue red alert warnings for four provinces this week.

Sicily’s Forestry Corps and Civil Protection workers were engaged to extinguish the fires, with six water-dropping aircraft drafted in to control the flames.

Three of the blazes were located in the northwest in the countryside between the cities of Palermo and Trapani. 

Two more were reported along the south coast and another in the suburbs of the eastern city of Catania.

Horrifying images snapped on Monday evening by residents in Trapani showed thick orange flames scything through bone-dry hills on the outskirts of the city.

Last weekend, meteorologists placed the eastern provinces of Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna and Messina under red alert warnings, with emergency services preparing for the prospect of yet more infernos.

Wildfires have burned more than 227,000 hectares of land in Europe since the beginning of the year, according to the EU’s European Forest Fire Information System – far above the average figure for the first six months of the year.

It is not yet clear if 2025 will be a record year, as that will depend on how the fire season evolves in the coming months. 

But the number of fires in Europe has also surged this year so far, with 1,118 blazes detected as of July 8, versus 716 in the same period last year, EFFIS said.

Countries are preparing for worse blazes.

Warmer-than-average temperatures are forecast across Europe in August, EFFIS said, meaning fire danger will remain high across much of southern and eastern Europe.

While Southern Europe is expected to see normal rainfall patterns, the rest of the continent is expected to be drier than normal in August, EFFIS said – potentially exacerbating fire risk in other regions.

Across the globe, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5C above the pre-industrial era for the first time.

Research published earlier this month showed the soil surface temperature around Athens rose in some places by as much as 10C since July 2024 after fires destroyed vegetation.

Meanwhile, northern parts of the continent battled a different kind of extreme weather this week as deadly storms, tornadoes and giant hail hit France and Germany.

Parts of the two nations have been lashed by violent storms that ripped roofs from homes and toppled trees. 

A tornado tore through an airport in central France, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, as hailstones the size of golf balls hammered southern Germany.

These extreme weather events come after 2024 was officially declared the hottest year ever recorded, with temperatures exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The Foreign Office notes starting a wildfire is a criminal offence, even if unintentional. 

It therefore advises cigarettes are properly extinguished, barbecues are not be lit and no litter is left, especially glass, which is known to start fires. 

Fires – and being in immediate danger from them – should be reported to the emergency services by calling 112. Their advice should be followed in case of a fire. 

Tourists can follow @112Greece for official updates and contact their airline or travel operator for assistance with return travel back to the UK in the event of a fire. 

Further information is available on Greece’s Civil Protection website and on the government’s advice page for preparing for and responding to extreme weather and natural hazards.