A large-scale forest fire engulfed Greece. The fire reached the outskirts of Athens, thousands of people were forced to evacuate

A large-scale forest fire has engulfed Greece, which is spreading at lightning speed. The natural disaster was caused by hot and windy weather — Greece, like the rest of the world, experienced the warmest summer in history.

This is reported by Reuters.

The fire rose to a height of 25 meters and reached the outskirts of Athens. The fire service ordered residents of several towns around the Greek capital, including historic Marathon, to leave their homes. In the villages of Varnavas and Grammatico, the fire destroyed houses and cars. More than 400 firefighters, 16 planes and 13 helicopters were involved in the fight against the natural disaster.

The situation is complicated by a strong wind of 63-74 kmph, due to which the fire spreads at an incredible speed.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his vacation and returned to Athens to personally oversee the emergency response. By the evening, the fire in Barnabas had already destroyed 100 square kilometers.

Hundreds of forest fires have been raging throughout Greece since May. Scientists explain their frequency and intensity with increasingly hot and dry weather associated with climate change.

This year, the country experienced its warmest winter on record, as well as long periods with little or no rainfall. After that, the hottest June and July were recorded in Greece. In June, four tourists even died in the country from abnormal heat. This summer is expected to be recorded as the warmest on record in Greece. Due to the abnormal heat this summer, fires also broke out, in particular, in Spain and the Balkans.