(Bloomberg) -- A number of wildfires broke out in Greece on Sunday including in areas close to the capital, with large parts of the country placed on a state of red alert.
A blaze in the Varnavas area, some 35 kilometres northeast of Athens, was fanned by strong winds and prompted authorities to halt traffic and urge residents to evacuate the area. Some 250 firefighters were attempting to contain the outbreak using helicopters, and local media said a number of properties have been destroyed.
Greece has been hit by thousands of wildfires since mid-June, amid searing heat, strong winds and dry conditions. Wildfires have been a risk in Greece since the 1980s, but global warming is turbo-charging the threat they pose.
Separate blazes broke out in Megara, another area close to Athens, and in Eretria on the island of Evia and in Filiates in the Thesprotia region.
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