Greece wildfire destroys area bigger than New York City | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
May 29, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2025
Greece wildfire destroys area bigger than New York City

Europe

Reuters
30 August, 2023, 10:10 am
Last modified: 30 August, 2023, 10:13 am

Related News

  • Israel declares national emergency, seeks global assistance as massive wildfire nears Jerusalem
  • Kashmir's forests ravaged by fires as human activity fuels surge
  • South Korean man cleaning gravesite suspected of starting wildfires: police
  • Recurrent wildfires: Are the risks rising?
  • South Korea battles worst ever wildfires as death toll hits 26

Greece wildfire destroys area bigger than New York City

Reuters
30 August, 2023, 10:10 am
Last modified: 30 August, 2023, 10:13 am
Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis

A wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, the European Union-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Tuesday, as firefighters from five countries battled to contain the flames.

Fuelled by gale force winds and hot weather, the fire that began near the city of Alexandroupolis quickly spread across the Evros region, killing at least 20 people last week in Europe's deadliest blaze this summer. It turned lush greenery into scorched earth and destroyed homes and livelihoods.

In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service said the fire had ravaged at least 808.7 square kilometres (312.2 square miles). New York City takes up 778.2 square kilometres (300.5 square miles).

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Copernicus said last week the fire was the largest on European soil in years, and authorities said the fire was still highly dangerous.

Aircraft and hundreds of firefighters on the ground, including from Albania, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, were battling the flames, the fire brigade said.

"We are trying to defend the rest of the unaffected area before the front line of the fire comes," said Jiri Nemcik, commander of the Czech team. "The development of the fire is very dynamic so it's very dangerous."

Satellite images highlight the extent of the destruction in the area where formerly lush pine trees have been reduced to blackened, skeletal bark.

Panagiota Maragou, head of conservation at the Greece division of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said at least 30% of the National Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest had been lost.

Because of its high biodiversity, the national park was "one of the most important protected areas in Greece and also in Europe, perhaps also on an international scale," she said.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting on Tuesday on the fires that have ravaged Greece, touching on preventative measures among other issues, a statement from his office said.

Environmentalists have long accused Greece of spending more funds on extinguishing fires than on prevention.

"We've seen in the case of Dadia and in the case of the Evros fire in general ... one of the biggest fires in Europe, that a system that relies exclusively on suppression of fires is not working," Maragou said.

Summer wildfires are common in Greece but the government says extreme weather conditions that scientists link to climate change have made them worse this year. Greece's deadliest fire on record killed 104 people outside Athens in 2018.

All but one of the dead in the Evros fire are believed to have been irregular migrants who crossed over from Turkey, evading police in the forest. Authorities fear more bodies may be found when the flames are put out, as Evros is a popular crossing into the EU for thousands of migrants and refugees every year.

The fires have spurred anti-immigrant sentiment in the region, according to Greece's Racist Violence Recording Network.

Last week, police detained three men after a video emerged on social media showing migrants in a trailer pulled by a jeep, and a man heard urging civilians to "round up" migrants he accused of setting the fires.

On Tuesday, a prosecutor launched a preliminary investigation into a separate incident after another video posted on social media showed four men, believed to be migrants, sitting on a dirt track beside a jeep, and a local man filming them, according to an official at the citizens' protection ministry.

The official said the man, who appeared at the Alexandroupolis police headquarters, had been wanted for his alleged involvement in the "forcible immobilisation" of migrants.

World+Biz

Greece Wildfire / Greece / wildfire / Wildfire impact

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • How termination of USDA-funded trade facilitation project will affect Bangladesh
    How termination of USDA-funded trade facilitation project will affect Bangladesh
  • File photo of Bangladesh Secretariat. Photo: Collected
    Visitors banned from entering Secretariat on Mondays and Thursdays
  • File photo of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Photo: Collected
    Asked for roadmap, govt didn’t give in 10 months, now 'December it is': Mirza Fakhrul

MOST VIEWED

  • Google Pay. Photo: Collected
    Google Pay likely coming to Bangladesh soon
  • Graphics: TBS
    Suspicious banking activities surge by 56% since July: Cenbank
  • Representational image of cable car/Freepik
    Cable car to be installed from Himchari to Reju Khal in Marine Drive Road
  • Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh sees highest-ever per capita income of $2,820 in FY25, BBS provisional data shows
  • IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
    IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
  • Abdul Awal Mintoo, chairman of National Bank Limited. Sketch: TBS
    'Regulatory support must for National Bank to restore depositors' confidence'

Related News

  • Israel declares national emergency, seeks global assistance as massive wildfire nears Jerusalem
  • Kashmir's forests ravaged by fires as human activity fuels surge
  • South Korean man cleaning gravesite suspected of starting wildfires: police
  • Recurrent wildfires: Are the risks rising?
  • South Korea battles worst ever wildfires as death toll hits 26

Features

In recent years, the Gor-e-Shaheed Eidgah has emerged as a strong contender for the crown of the biggest Eid congregation in the country, having hosted 600,000 worshippers in 2017. Photo: TBS

Gor-e-Shaheed Boro Maath: The heart of Dinajpur

2d | Panorama
The Hili Land Port, officially opened in 1997 but with trade roots stretching back to before Partition, has grown into a cornerstone of bilateral commerce.

Dhaka-Delhi tensions ripple across Hili’s markets and livelihoods

3d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Desk goals: Affordable ways to elevate your study setup

3d | Brands
Built on a diamond-type frame, the Hornet 2.0 is agile but grounded. PHOTO: Asif Chowdhury

Honda Hornet 2.0: Same spirit, upgraded sting

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

The fight between two brothers; Adidas vs Puma

The fight between two brothers; Adidas vs Puma

4h | Others
Trump is again keen to make Canada the 51st state

Trump is again keen to make Canada the 51st state

6h | Others
Trump's tariff strategy and Europe's investment politics, violence or negotiation?

Trump's tariff strategy and Europe's investment politics, violence or negotiation?

7h | Others
Rumours surrounding the Club World Cup: Which club will Ronaldo join?

Rumours surrounding the Club World Cup: Which club will Ronaldo join?

7h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net