Athens, Jul 22 (EFE).- The heat wave scorching Greece will be the longest in the country’s history, the National Meteorological Institute said Saturday, which forecast maximum temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
“According to the data, we will probably have between 16 or 17 very hot days, which has never happened in our country before,” Kostas Lagouvardos, chief researcher at the institute, told Greek public television on Saturday.
Greece defines a heat wave as a period when temperatures exceed 39C. The longest ever recorded was 11 consecutive days in 1987.
Greek authorities have warned of a very high risk of fires in seven regions.
Dozens of firefighters from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia and Malta have arrived in Greece to help with firefighting efforts.
At the same time, France, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Jordan have sent air tankers and helicopter tankers, Civil Protection reported.
The fires in the Athens region and on the Peloponnese peninsula are under control, but the flames are rising again due to the severe drought.
The heat wave is expected to continue next week with minor fluctuations. After a slight respite on Monday, temperatures are expected to reach up to 46C in some areas of southern Greece on Wednesday. EFE
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