Greece’s Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection welcomed the European Commission’s doubling of the rescEU’s aerial firefighting fleet for this year’s fire season, pointing out that this decision was an official Greek proposal and an important step for protecting the country against fires. The ministry underlined, Greece welcomes the …
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180 firefighters from five EU countries to assist Greece in summer
180 firefighters from five European countries will assist Greece combating wildfires in the period July and August. The teams will come from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania and Slovakia. The assistance comes in the context of the firefighters pre-positioning program that will be implemented again via the European Civil Protection Mechanism …
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Prince Albert of Monaco to attend Elafonisos Eco-Week 2023
Prince Albert II of Monaco will be visiting the island of Elafonisos to attend the Eco-Week symposium on May 29. The prince’s visit to the island, located off the southern end of the Peloponnese, is taking place in the context of attending the 6th Edition of the Eco-Sustainable Symposium during …
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AI recruited in effort to prevent forest fires
Artificial intelligence is being deployed in the battle for the prevention and management of forest fires through innovative programs developed and coordinated by the National Observatory of Athens (NOA). Forest fire risk is being assessed through the Deep Cube and SeasFire programs, which started in January 2021 and March 2022 …
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Fire season starts in Greece: What to do and avoid
The fire season in Greece starts on Monday, May 1, and lasts until October 31, 2023 and the Civil Protection mechanism is in full readiness the institution ηασ has announced. The strategic planning is based on the new doctrine of Prevention, Preparation/Readiness in combination with the Immediate Response to emergencies …
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Skyros: Environment Ministry rejects wind farm installation in Natura area
The negative assessment of the Environment Ministry’s Directorate of Natural Environment and Biodiversity has essentially pulled the plug on plans for the construction of six wind farms in the pristine southern part of the central Aegean island of Skyros. The body opined that the construction of the project will cause …
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EU Court of Justice condemns Greece over Thessaloniki pollution
The European Court of Justice has once again condemned Greece over its environmental performance, and Thessaloniki more specifically over its air quality. The court on Thursday found very high levels of micro-particles in the air of the northern city, which Greece has failed to tackle over the last decade. The …
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Thessaloniki: 14 people arrested for protesting cutting of trees (video)
Fourteen people who protested the cutting of trees in Thessaloniki on Monday morning were arrested accused of trying to prevent a crew of the Municipality from cutting trees. Police dragged the protesters from arms and legs and pushed them violently into vehicles. an elderly man is heard shouting “Shame! Shame!” …
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Eco disaster: Thousands of dead crabs in protected Kotychi lagoon
Thousands of dead crabs have been washed up ashore in the shores of protected Kotychi wetland some 45 km away form the city of Patras, in north-western Peloponnese. According to local media, thousands of dead crabs have been recorded either washed up on the shores or they are floating dead …
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Tsiknopempti grilling raises smog levels in Athens
Smog in Athens and Attica rose by 2 to 2.5 times, higher than the usual cold evening in the Greek capital due to the massive traditional grilling on Tsiknopempti, the Smokey Thursday, on February 16. Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Director of Research of the Athens Observatory, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, said …
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Greece top in hazardous waste management, fines
The findings of a European assessment on Monday regarding hazardous waste management in Greece offer an interesting contrast. On the one hand, it ranks among the highest reaches in the EU in terms of waste management as only 1% of the quantities remain untreated, while 91% are recycled. However, it …
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New Year swim but scientists concerned about prolonged high temperatures
Ηigh temperatures since the beginning of December are a cause of concern for Greek scientists as this prolonged “summer” in winter breaks all records in terms of its duration. “We have lost one third of the winter,” they say and speak of a weather and climate “anomaly.” On the other …
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Paligremnos landmark: Locals, scientists fight against hotel construction
Local communities and scientists vehemently oppose the construction of a hotel facility in the iconic Paligremnos Wall, an area of Plakias by Rethymno on the island of Crete. They have appealed to justice to cancel the building permit arguing that the construction would damage the “natural environment of great geological …
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Christmas Tree Lighting in downtown Athens, Dec 1 evening
The City of Athens will complete its preparations for the Christmas holidays with the lighting of a spectacular Christmas tree at 19:15 on Thursday, December 1, at Syntagma square in downtown Athens. The 21-metre-high Christmas tree, which travelled from the town of Karpenissi to Athens, will be illuminated by 5km …
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White foam: Rare phenomenon in Crete after deadly floods (video)
A rare phenomenon in the northern coast of Crete after the torrential rainfalls and the floods: extensive white foams, that turn brown in places when combined with large amounts of mud. The white foam has appeared at several beaches like the one of Amisos and Kato Zakros. As Crete continues …
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Greece’s first: Power demands was covered 100% by RES for 5 hours
For the first time in the history of the Greek electricity system the demand was covered 100% by renewable energy from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, October 7, 2022, the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator ADMIE announced. According to ADIME data on October 7, RES production reached a …
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WWF Greece: Plastic straws flood the market, bypassing single-use plastic ban
WWF Greece has complained that plastic straws have filled the market despite their ban since 2021, when Greece was one of the first countries to incorporate the EU directive on the single-use plastics into national law Greece was one of the first countries to incorporate into national law the directive …
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Thassos Fire: Elderly man arrested as main suspect for two arson UPDATE
A man was detained as suspect for the big fire on the island of Thassos and quickly his detention turned into his arrest. There is strong evidence that the man is responsible not only for one but for two forest fires in the same area within a week. The 65-year-old …
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UPDATE 3 Forest fire is raging on Thassos: Village evacuated; 2 injured (videos)
A forest fire on the island of Thassos is out of control on Thursday morning despite the strengthening of the fire fighting forces and the aerial means. One village has been ordered to evacuate. Two volunteers were injured. The fire broke out in a dense pine forest and in difficult …
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“Army” of brown jellyfish quickly moving from North to South Evia (video)
An “army” of brown jellyfish is quickly swimming under the bridge of Halkida in Euripus Strait, moving from the North to the South of Evia. Thousands of brown jellyfish is being swept away by the tide for which the Strait is famous of. Their speed is extremely high as the …
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