An explosive combination of gale-force winds, locally reaching 9 Beaufort with gusts exceeding 100 km/h, and high temperatures forecast for tomorrow, Friday, is significantly raising wildfire risk in parts of the country, placing Attica, Boeotia, Evia, Argolida and Corinthia on red code (extreme risk).

Specifically, extreme wildfire risk, alert status (risk category 5), is forecast for the following areas:

Attica Region

Central Greece Region (Boeotia, Evia)

Peloponnese Region (Argolida, Corinthia)

Very high wildfire risk (category 4) is forecast for the following areas:

Attica Region (Kythira)

Peloponnese Region (Corinthia, Arcadia, Laconia)

Western Greece Region (Achaea, Ilia)

Ionian Islands Region (Zakynthos)

Central Greece Region (Phocis, Phthiotis, Evia including Skyros)

Thessaly Region (Sporades)

North Aegean Region

Central Macedonia Region (Chalkidiki and Mount Athos)

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region (Kavala, Thassos, Xanthi, Rhodope, Evros including Samothrace)

South Aegean Region (Cyclades)

Crete Region

Gale-force meltemi winds creating hazardous conditions

At the same time, gale-force meltemi winds will be the dominant feature of tomorrow’s weather, with gusts locally expected to exceed 100 km/h, creating particularly unfavourable conditions for wildfires to break out and spread rapidly.

The strong winds are also expected to disrupt sea transport in the Aegean and will bring a significant drop in temperature, down by 6 to 7 degrees, mainly in the eastern parts of the country.

Maps published by Meteo show the maximum wind gusts expected around midday on Friday over eastern Central Greece, the Peloponnese and the north-western Cyclades. Winds with gusts exceeding 100 km/h are expected in southern Evia and south-western Andros.

Winds locally reaching 9 Beaufort

Following a meeting of the Risk Assessment Committee, northerly to north-easterly winds in Thrace will reach 6 to 7 Beaufort, while in the islands of the North and East Aegean they will reach 7 to 8, locally 9 Beaufort. In the eastern and southern Peloponnese and Kythira, winds will blow at 5 to 7, locally 8 Beaufort.

In the Attica-Boeotia area and Evia, winds will reach 7 to 8 Beaufort, while in eastern and southern Attica and southern Evia they will locally reach 9 Beaufort.

In the Central Aegean and the Cyclades, winds will reach 7 to 8, locally 9 Beaufort. In Crete, northerly to north-westerly winds will blow at 5 to 7, locally up to 8 Beaufort in the west, while in the Dodecanese, north-westerly winds will reach 6 to 7 Beaufort.

The Committee is expected to convene again tomorrow morning.

Tournas: “We will treat category 4 areas as if they were category 5”

Evangelos Tournas, Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, called for heightened readiness and full mobilisation of all state mechanisms at today’s meeting of the Civil Protection Coordination Body, convened at the invitation of the Secretary General of Civil Protection, Nikos Papaefstathiou, to address the extreme wildfire risk forecast for tomorrow.

“We will treat the areas in risk category 4 as if they were in category 5,” the minister said. He noted that the deployment of Hellenic Police, Armed Forces, Fire Service and volunteer personnel acts as a deterrent, but that fires breaking out under these conditions are particularly aggressive. The goal, he stressed, is to tackle every new outbreak immediately, before it can grow and endanger lives, property and the natural environment.

Civil Protection guidance for the public

The General Secretariat for Civil Protection, under the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, has notified the relevant state services, as well as the regions and municipalities of the areas listed above, to remain on heightened civil protection readiness in order to respond immediately to any fire incidents.

The General Secretariat is also urging the public to be especially careful and to avoid outdoor activities that could cause fires through negligence, such as burning dry grass, branches or garden waste, using spark-generating machinery such as angle grinders or welding equipment, using outdoor barbecues, smoking out beehives, or discarding lit cigarettes. It is also reminded that burning of agricultural land is prohibited during the fire season.

Anyone who spots a fire is asked to notify the Fire Service immediately on 199.