These past times have been quite challenging for the whole world battling the pandemic and facing the intensified situation with climate change. Over time, people have heard a lot of scary threats regarding the planet. And it seems that these apocalyptic scenarios are coming to realization. One recent piece news that has drawn the attention of the whole world is that of wildfires taking place in Greece.
The fire started on August 3rd in Evia, the second largest Greek island. The fire was caused by the worst heatwave that Greece has experienced in three decades. It caused hundreds of people to evacuate as soon as possible, leaving their homes and everything precious to them in order to save their lives.
Heatwaves took the world by storm, with one of the most recent and most devastating ones leading to a massive wildfire in Evia, Greece
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Even though these severe heatwaves are not a very common occurrence, recently different parts of the world have been affected by them. Bored Panda has already covered a few stories showing how people cope with intense heat waves. However, the intensity of these heat waves reached its peak in Greece and soon national authorities had to find an effective way to tackle the situation. These unprecedented circumstances not only filled people with fear of the unknown, but also sparked some distrust towards the government.
According to BBC News, severe heatwaves have caused a wildfire that has burned more than 56,000 hectares of land
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According to the Guardian, the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis named this situation “a natural disaster of unprecedented dimensions.” However, the government received some critique for failing to make sure that there are enough resources to tackle the problem.
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The wildfires that have caused thousands of people to lose their homes, jobs, and businesses have also put people into dangerous and stressful situations. Besides that, it has a huge impact on the environment. According to NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, it releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide, black carbon, brown carbon, and ozone precursors into the atmosphere and has an impact on the quality of air.
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Such tough times show how united can people be and how many of them are ready to give a helping hand. Even in these stressful and dangerous times, humanity has proven that there is always some way out. Soon, the internet was filled with photos and videos proving how horrible it is in the area and how no one can see the end of it. But along with these pictures, people were also sharing moments of people helping each other and trying to save what’s around them.
People online have been sharing heart-wrenching moments of the impact of the wildfires
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Sunset in Greece last night with the horrible forest fires
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The video below shows intense wildfire taking over the whole island
Not that long ago, the world was shaken by the fires destroying Australia
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Despite this dreadful disaster, people also shared some heart-warming moments
Image credits: Cyprus Embassy Athens
Countries such as Romania, Ukraine, and Serbia sent their firefighters to help tackle the disastrous fires. Besides putting out fires, they also rescued hundreds of people and animals. Also, people who were evacuated from their homes had the opportunity to stay at a hotel for few nights.
This and many more intricate situations prove that anything is possible when people are ready to unite and help each other. What are your thoughts on this situation? Leave them in the comments down below!
Image credits: Cyprus Embassy Athens
Firefighters and volunteers helping to minimize the loss of animal life in Greece
Image credits: Cyprus Embassy Athens
Image credits: Cyprus Embassy Athens
See a full video down below of how people are taking care of pets who were lost and injured during the wildfire
Almost 900 firefighters are still in a battle with this natural disaster, with the country's government promising to compensate the victims
Image credits: Embassy of Ukraine to the Hellenic Republic
Serbia sends special unit of firefighters consisting of 37 firefighters, 14 vehicles and 3 helicopters to help Greece with the fires
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Romanian firefighters in Greece, in action
Image credits: CosminDvD
Image credits: CosminDvD
Firefighters from Ukraine also came to the rescue and helped to save hundreds of people
Image credits: Embassy of Ukraine to the Hellenic Republic
Image credits: harris_stavrou
In context, the ongoing wildfires that have claimed over 56k hectares of land can even be seen from satellite
Image credits: Maxar Technologies
Image credits: Maxar Technologies