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Fire devastates Athens suburbs [InTime News]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. The wildfire that broke out around Mount Penteli in northeastern Attica left a trail of devastation in its wake, as hundreds of firefighters and volunteers battled to tackle the blaze over three difficult days. A woman was found dead by the emergency services in a commercial property in the suburb of Vrilissia that had been gutted by the flames, less than a dozen kilometers away from the city center. Inspections are ongoing, but there have already been 40 homes that have been condemned for demolition and a further 64 have been declared unfit for use. At least 30 business and commercial properties have also been impacted by the fire. The environmental “butcher’s bill” is also staggering. Between 9,600 and 10,500 hectares of land were burnt by the fire (about 2.5% of the Attica region), an area of approximately 104 square kilometers. This area is approximately twice the size of Manhattan and about the size of Paris. More than a third (37%) of Attica’s forests have been burned down over the last eight years, according to a report by the National Observatory of Athens, a trend that has accelerated in recent years. In 2021, 25,370 hectares of forest were destroyed and last year the capital region lost a further 21,560 hectares. Experts are already warning of the severe repercussions that these consecutive fires will have on the capital region’s ecosystem. Aside from the immediate impact of the released particles on the air quality of Athens, long-term threats include higher temperatures, reduced water availability, and increased pollution. There is also increased risk of desertification in several areas that have been stricken by fires on multiple occasions. “This fire is the tombstone for many parts of eastern Attica. When the same spot burns so often, soil is lost and nature loses its strength, it cannot support new vegetation,” noted Nicos Georgiadis, forester and president of WWF Greece’s terrestrial program, to Kathimerini. Spotlight
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OPINION
 [InTime News]The huge fire that burned thousands of acres and found its way into the suburbs of Athens, brought to the forefront the need for not only being better prepared, but also for being proactive. Both in the short term, by taking precautionary measures when and where the probability of fire is high and, most importantly, in the long term, by setting up a well-planned system that transcends parties and personalities. The present government might pay a political price for the disaster, as its predecessor did with another huge and deadly fire six years ago, or it might not; the center-left opposition criticized last week’s handling of the situation, as the conservatives had done when they were in the opposition in similar disasters. But the real issue here is for Greece as a country, regardless of which party is in power every time a natural disaster hits, to be ready to deal with wildfires, a phenomenon that recent experience as well as science, lead us to believe that are becoming a high probability if not a certainty during Greece’s hot and windy summers. To do so the country’s civil protection mechanism should be revamped; attract people with knowledge and experience, use the best technology and most innovative methods available. In addition, we need to set up a process of effective communication and coordination between the central government and local authorities and communities, and promote and facilitate the active participation of citizens, especially in areas that have proven more vulnerable to wildfires. The climate crisis is making a bad situation even worse. We have to constantly adapt and improve, while ensuring that such a mechanism functions independently of any political influences or personal and political animosities. Fires don’t differentiate between conservatives and liberals or their properties. They burn everything they find in their path. In a country like Greece, getting prepared to deal with the possibility of a fire breaking out, and being efficient when confronted with the disaster, should be a bipartisan priority. |
| CHART OF THE WEEK |
 Electricity prices look likely to rise in September, with the heatwave in western Europe and the high prices for natural gas set to exert pressure on the domestic market. The high temperatures in Europe, aside from leading to an increase in demand, has also limited the production of French nuclear energy (up to 2.4 GW in three nuclear reactors in the country’s south). The average wholesale price of electricity in Greece over the first fortnight of August was 122.48 euros per megawatt hour, the second highest rate in Europe. A large part of the demand for electricity is met by natural gas (38.3%), with analysts predicting that gas prices are set to increase. |
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| ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL |
| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,431.88 points, up 3.51% from last week.” |
| “High prices in two of Greece’s most famous tourist destinations, the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, likely led to a further decline in catering and accommodation turnover there in the first six months of 2024. Specifically, turnover was almost 10% less than 2023 at a time when Greece saw an overall increase of 8.71%.” |
| “The Finance Ministry has announced that tax revenue over the first seven months of the year was 6.7% higher than the sum forecast in the government’s budget. At the same time, it is increasingly the case that new electronic payment methods have made individuals and corporations more likely to pay taxes on time.” |
| WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA |
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Editor's Pick One of the reasons that the economic crisis lasted as long as it did in Greece is that the debate focused on who is to blame and not on what is to blame.Paschos MandravelisRead the article |
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