[REVISION HISTORY]

Greece heatwave and wildfire risk, Aug 2026

Updated 29 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-27 04:56 UTC → 2026-08-28 22:26 UTC · added ~~removed~~

~~In mid-August~~ By late August 2026, Greece ~~faced intense weather shifts characterized~~ continued to face extreme wildfire risks driven by a prolonged heatwave and strong ~~northern Meltemi winds, reaching 8 to 9 Beaufort in~~ winds. On August 26, the ~~Aegean. While localized thunderstorms and rain affected Macedonia, Thessaly,~~ General Secretariat for Civil Protection issued Category 5 (Red Code) emergency alerts for Crete, Rhodes, and ~~Epirus,~~ Karpathos. Other regions, including the ~~high winds increased~~ Ionian Islands, Epirus, the ~~risk~~ North Aegean, and parts of ~~rapid wildfire spread. Authorities issued Red Code wildfire alerts, categorizing~~ the ~~risk as very high to extreme across several regions. In Athens, the Municipality~~ South Aegean, were placed ~~services on high alert due to a predicted~~ under Category ~~5 fire~~ 4 (Orange) high risk ~~in Attica. As a precaution, Lycabettus and Finopoulou hills were closed to pedestrians and vehicles, with~~ alerts. To mitigate these risks, authorities deploying drones equipped with thermal cameras to monitor green spaces. While Lycabettus Hill reopened on August 14, Finopoulou Hill remained closed. On August 14, a significant wildfire in the Cassandra region of Halkidiki required the evacuation of 446 people; the fire was subsequently reported to be in recession. However, on August 15, new wildfires erupted implemented bans on ~~the islands of Salamina~~ movement and ~~Skyros. On Salamina, two fires~~ presence in ~~the Peristiria~~ various forested areas and ~~Selini areas, fueled by 7 Beaufort winds, resulted~~ Natura sites, particularly in ~~two deaths near Peristiria beach and necessitated mass evacuations via~~ Crete, the ~~Coast Guard. On Skyros, a major forest~~ South Aegean, and Western Macedonia. Violations of these restrictions or fire ~~split into multiple fronts, threatening the village~~ safety regulations can result in administrative fines of ~~Peyko.~~ 300 euros and criminal penalties. On August ~~16, the General Secretariat~~ 28, warnings were updated for ~~Civil Protection placed eleven regions, including Attica and Evros, under a~~ August 29, predicting continued Category ~~3 high~~ 5 extreme fire risk ~~alert~~ for ~~August 18. Concurrently, a private helicopter crashed in the Tholos area of Sifnos on August 17, triggering a fire; three occupants were reported unconscious. By August 20,~~ Crete and the ~~General Secretariat for Civil Protection maintained a~~ South Aegean (specifically Rhodes and Karpathos). Category 3 4 very high ~~fire~~ risk was expected for ~~much of central, southern,~~ Attica, Central Greece (Evia), the North Aegean (including Lesvos, Chios, Samos, and ~~island Greece. On August 23, risk levels~~ Ikaria), the Cyclades, Kalymnos, Kos, and Laconia. Strict preventive measures remained ~~high across~~ in place, including movement bans in Western Macedonia, East Attica, Zakynthos, and parts of Thesprotia. In the ~~Peloponnese,~~ Municipality of Agiou Nikolaou, access to the Kritia Gorge and ~~various island groups, accompanied by a heatwave with temperatures potentially reaching 40 °C.~~ several forests was prohibited. Authorities continued to urge citizens to avoid activities that could cause sparks, such as using outdoor grills, burning dry vegetation, or operating machinery.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.