A devastating wildfire northeast of Athens burned 104 square kilometers (40 square miles) of land this week, according to the European Union's satellite mapping agency. The fire, which destroyed dozens of homes, prompted international aid, with nine countries, including Turkey, sending firefighting teams and aerial support.
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service released the damage assessment on Wednesday, a day after the blaze was contained just outside the Greek capital. Tragically, a factory worker lost his life as the fire spread through mountainous terrain, covering an area nearly twice the size of Manhattan and shrouding Athens in thick smoke.
This wildfire is part of a broader trend of extreme weather in southern Europe, where successive heat waves and low rainfall have heightened the risk of wildfires. The National Observatory of Athens reports that over the past eight years, 450 square kilometers (174 square miles) of forest have burned in the Attica region, which includes Athens—equivalent to 37% of the area's total forest cover.
