Wildfires, climate change & an unlivable Athens

Dear reader,

This is our weekly round-up from Greece while the country is still experiencing extremely high temperatures - now wildfires have erupted. Same old story; only climate change has made the situation more acute and urgent. 

In Athens, authorities ordered the public parks to remain closed during the heatwaves, revealing they are incapable of protecting them from the risk of fire and significantly depriving the poorest of some of the few cooling spaces in what is becoming an unlivable megacity.

On Thursday, Greece’s independent Data Protection Authority announced that more than 350 SMS related to the Predator spyware program had been sent, and 92 people were spotted as targets. This triggered a strong reaction from the opposition as Justice is far from done as to the so-called “Greek Watergate.”

It’s not the heatwave; it’s a catastrophic mentality

Leading Nasa climate expert Gavin Schmidt stated (Opens in a new window) on Thursday that this July is likely the hottest month on record. According to Nasa’s global temperature analysis, the agency announced last week; Earth already saw its hottest June on paper.

Greece is experiencing consequent heat waves this month, named ‘Kleon (Opens in a new window).’ The second one came last weekend, with temperatures rising to more than 44 degrees Celcius in parts of Greece. The third one was this week. 

The country has repeatedly been experiencing heat waves. However, climate change has made them more prolonged and acute.