Motorists should only fill up after sunset, says Environment Ministry

The Ministry of Environment and Energy have advised motorists  to only fill up their vehicles after sunset due to the heatwave hitting Greece with temperatures way over 40 degrees Celsius.

The Ministry has also urged motorists to reduce the use of cars in the morning and at noon and use public transport instead as the heatwave leads to the accumulation of pollutants in the air.

The ministry also called on businesses to avoid operating machinery that emits organic volatile hydrocarbons, such as dry cleaners, metallurgical plants and dyers. The use of paints, especially during midday and the early afternoon, is also discouraged.

At the same time, the ministry recommends to avoid the handling of liquid fuels at noon except in cases of need, such as the refueling of ports and airports, and also to not carry out work in dry cleaners and paint shops.

“Based on the EMY forecast, meteorological conditions unfavorable to pollution and high temperatures will prevail this afternoon and tomorrow [Friday-Saturday, July 14-15], as a result favoring the accumulation of pollutants.

With this data, the Ministry of Environment and Energy recommends the following to citizens in Attica::

• Reduction in the use of private cars; use public transport instead
• Avoid as far as possible, the handling of liquid fuels and especially petrol, except in the cases of supplying airports and ports.
• Vehicles should be refueled as soon as possible after sunset.
• Avoid as far as possible, the operation of units and businesses that emit organic volatile hydrocarbons (dry cleaners, metallurgical plants, paint shops, etc.) as well as the use of paints, mainly in the midday and early afternoon hours.

“We sincerely ask the citizens of Attica for their positive response to our above recommendations”, the Ministry said.

Information about the pollutants are here  (Ozone index) and here (Air/Atmosphere quality) Both in Greek.

PS Taking into consideration that media uploaded the Ministry’s advice after 8 p.m. Friday, we suppose the ministry was sleeping while the heatwave warnings were making headlines since last weekend and they run not stop iin the last three days. But we are in Greece, when ‘precautions” are taken as “after-cautions.”