Fires: expert sounds the alarm because of the “environmental collapse”

A disaster management expert has expressed concern that a series of wildfires and heatwaves will lead to an “environmental collapse” in the Attica region, where Athens, the capital of Greece, is located, as numerous fires have been burning there over the past decade, burning forests, bushes, pastures, residential communities, farms and businesses.

“Every year for two weeks at the end of July we have the biggest fires in Attica” said Mr. Lekkas, adding that it is not only their scale that worries, but also that they occur at key points.

“Hot and windy weather is triggering new forest fires, and I am very afraid that the combination of new fires with those that have been going on in the past few days will lead to the ecological collapse of Attica,” Efthymios Lekkas, professor of geology and Disaster Management University of Athens.

The map shows large forest fires in Attica in recent years

“If this devastation continues, the entire ecological system will collapse,” Lekkas added, noting that this constant combination of extreme heat and fire is also hindering reforestation.

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According to him, big fire in Rhodes is at a key pointand the consequences there will also be significant.

“If we cannot save our last [природные] resources, we will eventually face desertification and find ourselves in a situation similar to Dubai,” the expert said.

“The actions we can take are very specific. We are working with the authorities, with the region, with the municipalities, but there are weaknesses in these mechanisms. We must put a lot of emphasis on strengthening the municipalities with people and resources so that they can cope with them. We could We need to take extra steps to reduce the chances.We need to keep a watch over the forests, especially in July, when the last two weeks are the most critical.We need to watch them more. If we can’t save the last resources, we will eventually reach desertification and we arrive at a situation as in Dubai”, said Mr. Lekkas, urging citizens to exercise special attention in the coming days, when a new increase in temperature is expected with the danger of new fires.

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