2023-07-20 13:33:07
The visit to the Acropolis will have to be in the morning in the next few days. “Due to high temperatures, the schedules of the archaeological sites (…) will be modified and they will close from noon to 5:30 p.m., announces the Greek Ministry of Culture. This decision will be applied until Sunday. The site’s custodians’ union said at least 20 visitors had fainted due to temperatures that can reach 45C. Hundreds of firefighters are still battling blazes across the country on Thursday. Follow our live.
More than 200 European firefighters on their way to Greece. Romanian, Slovak and Polish firefighters will be dispatched by Friday to fight major ongoing forest fires, firefighting services said. On behalf of the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, two Canadairs and a French reconnaissance aircraft have been active in Greece since Tuesday.
Fifteen French departments in yellow or orange vigilance. The departments concerned by orange vigilance are Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Hérault, Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse , as well as Var – whose prefecture decided to close five massifs on Thursday, for “high risk of fire”. This list is completed by six other departments (as well as Andorra) in yellow vigilance, namely Ariège, Aude, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Hautes-Alpes and Pyrénées-Orientales.
Peaks at 40°C expected in the Var. The heatwave episode continues according to Météo-France, which forecasts temperatures “often” above 35°C in departments classified as orange, “with up to 40 degrees in the Var” notify the institute. This intense heat calls for “special vigilance, especially for sensitive or exposed people” warns Météo-France.
Towards a record month of July? According to the European observatory Copernicus, July 2023 is “on track to become the hottest July ever measured”. The phenomenon would be related to “a combination of factors”including climate change, linked to human activities, but also the heat wave currently affecting the North Atlantic and the natural phenomenon El Niño.
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