Greek wildfires burn area larger than New York City
The recent wildfires in Greece have burned an area of 808.7 square kilometers (312.24 square miles), an area larger than the city of New York. The EU's Copernicus Earth Observation Program said on Tuesday that the fires have affected several areas of Greece.
- Europe
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 06:14 | 29 August 2023
- Modified Date: 06:14 | 29 August 2023
Recent wildfires in Greece have burned an area larger than the city of New York, said the EU's Copernicus Earth Observation Program on Tuesday.
"A total burnt area of 808.7 km2 (312.24 mi2) has been detected, an area larger than New York City," it said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a related development, Balazs Iravju, the EU Commission spokesperson for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said that the union has sent 11 firefighting planes, over 400 firefighters, 62 vehicles, and one helicopter in response to wildfires in Greece's Evros region, which he called the largest wildfires in EU history.
The fire in the region-in northeastern Greece, bordering Türkiye-continues to rage on two major fronts on its 11th day, as reported by Greece's state-run AMNA news agency.
With increased ground and aerial firefighting forces and with mild winds, the extinguishing operations continue on the two remaining fronts of the fire in Evros, in Leptokarya, and the area of Kotronia, it added.