Global warming
Since the 1960s, temperatures have been rising steadily in Greece. It is the country most affected by global warming in the Mediterranean.
Rising temperatures. Between 2000 and 2020, an average annual temperature rise of 0.047°C was recorded, i.e. 0.011°C above the global average. Around a third of the country is now classified as arid: Attica (around Athens), Macedonia, the Cyclades, parts of Evia, Thessaly and Thrace, as well as certain areas in the Peloponnese and Crete. Greece is thus considered to be the country most affected by global warming in the Mediterranean basin.
Effects. The most spectacular visible effects of global warming are fires (see below). But, in one way or another, all ecosystems in Greece have already been affected: the development of invasive species, the threat to Mediterranean posidonia (a sea grass that absorbs a large proportion ofCO2 and is the main habitat for fish), lower agricultural yields... Soil erosion is also leading to flooding on an unprecedented scale. These were catastrophic in Crete in 2022 (at least two deaths), and in Thessaly and Evia in 2023 (around fifteen victims). The biggest concern is rising sea levels. In Greece, sea levels are now rising by 1.1 to 1.3 cm every ten years. By 2100, the coastline will have receded by an average of 280 m inland. The impact will be enormous, since 33% of the population lives within 2 km of the coast (and 85% within 50 km). Whatever measures are taken, islands and towns are already doomed to disappear.
Measures taken. They are negligible. And since global warming is a worldwide phenomenon, only measures taken on a European or global scale could have an impact. In any case, the Greek authorities don't seem to be measuring up to the risks. However, some progress has been made. In 2015, Greece ratified the Paris climate agreement. Moreover, the country has seen its greenhouse gas emissions fall drastically in recent years: from over 132 million tonnes ofCO2 equivalent in 2005 to less than 60 million tonnes in 2021. However, this is mainly due to a slowdown in economic activity, particularly since the financial crisis of 2009. And, as part of the "European Green Pact", which has been in place within the EU since 2020, Greece is set to receive €1 billion in aid to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The fact remains that environmental issues are virtually absent from public debate. In the 2023 parliamentary elections, the terms "environment" or "climate change" appeared in less than 0.5% of official speeches. Green parties have virtually disappeared from the political scene: in the same elections, the two "green" parties received less than 37,000 votes, or barely 0.7% of the total.
Fires
Since the 2000s, Greece has been plagued by major fires every summer.
In every region. The black series began in 2007: 139 fires killed 84 people and ravaged 2,700 km2 of forest, mainly in the Peloponnese, Attica and Evia. The fires were then relatively contained: 250 km2 burnt in 2008, 428 km2 in 2009, 357 km2 in 2011, 524 km2 in 2012, 317 km2 in 2016... And while only 120 km2 went up in smoke in 2018, this year remains marked by the Mati disaster. In this village on the west coast of Attica, near Rafina, 104 people burned, asphyxiated or drowned while trying to escape by sea. This appalling event changed one thing: the absolute priority given to firefighters and the air force in fighting fires in urban areas. Thus, during the summer of 2021, fire-fighting resources were concentrated in Attica, to the detriment of rural areas. The suburbs of Athens were saved and only three people died, but 1,250 km2 burned, particularly 500 km2 in the large forests of northern Evia. After a relative lull during the summer of 2022 (which was terrible in the rest of Europe, notably in Gironde, Portugal, Germany...), 2023 was the worst year for Greece since 2007: 1,800 km2 burnt from Corfu to Rhodes, disastrous images of tourists fleeing the flames, schools and hotels destroyed and, worst of all, the total indifference of the authorities to the fate of migrants in the Evros region, along the border with Turkey. The official death toll that summer was 28. But some associations put the number of missing refugees living in the forests around Alexandroupoli at around one hundred. In 2024, the 407 km2 that burned were mainly in Attica, with devastation in the last wooded areas of the Penteelic and Parnes mountains, very close to Athens.
The reasons. The main cause of the increase in the number and scale of fires is, of course, global warming. But this is compounded by a number of factors. Some are natural, in particular the strong summer winds: meltémi in the Aegean and bora in the Adriatic. The country's desertification is also having a major impact. As rural areas become increasingly empty, forests are less and less maintained. Traditional pastoral activities used to maintain the undergrowth. But the number of shepherds and flocks is falling, and fire-prone vegetation is spreading throughout the country. The pressure of tourism and the concentration of the population in areas close to the coast are also having an impact: many fires are caused accidentally by rubbish fires, faulty electric transformers, poorly extinguished cigarettes, barbecues in the open air, etc. More marginally, fires are also set intentionally to make certain plots of land suitable for building. The management of burnt areas after fires is also open to question: some replanting is carried out too soon, without waiting for natural regeneration and favouring "fast" species such as conifers, which... are the most highly flammable! For example, the great deciduous forests of Mount Parnes, which disappeared in the flames in 1985, have been replaced by pine forests, which have been regularly engulfed in flames since 2007.
Fire-fighting resources. These are largely inadequate: not enough qualified personnel, no watchtowers in high-risk areas, ageing equipment, etc. However, the Ministry of Defense plans to replace its last ten Canadair CL-215 amphibious water bomber aircraft, in service since 1972-1975, with seven new De Havilland Canada DHC-515s from 2027. Since 2001, Greece has also benefited from the "European Civil Protection Mechanism". Under this scheme, 180 French firefighters took part in the Attica firefight in August 2024.
