The Latest: Fire burns unchecked on Greek island of Kythira

The Latest: Fire burns unchecked on Greek island of Kythira

06 August 2017

Greece – The Latest on the wildfires burning amid a heatwave in Europe (all times local):

7:45 p.m.

Authorities in Greece say a wildfire that has blazed on the southern island of Kythira since Friday morning continues to burn unchecked.

So far, no homes have been damaged, but Kythira mayor Efstratios Harhalakis said the fire has consumed at least 1,500 hectares (3,750 acres) of forest and farmland. Four villages and a monastery were evacuated Sunday and a fifth village remained evacuated for a second day.

The Fire Service wouldn’t confirm the extent of the damage, but says gusty winds, hilly terrain and highly flammable vegetation make it difficult to control the fire.

The service says 200 firefighters are on the ground and almost all available firefighting planes and helicopters are battling the blaze from the sky.

As of early Sunday evening, more than 40 wildfires had broken out across Greece during the previous 36 hours. Only one remained uncontained.

4:20 p.m.

Macedonia has declared a state of emergency in its southwestern mountainous region due to fear that a heat wave could spread multiple wildfires that have been raging in the country’s southwest region.

The 30-day state of emergency announced late Saturday by Macedonian Interior minister Oliver Spasovskiby directs all available safety resources will be directed to the affected region.

Firefighters and volunteers have been trying to control wildfires in several regions of Macedonia for about two weeks.

Police confirmed that a burned body was discovered in a village near the capital, Skopje, while two houses and a barn were burned in the village of Mogilec in Macedonia’s central region.

Water-dropping helicopters were requested after fires intensified in the southwest and threatened homes, mostly in mountain villages.

An international team of climate researchers from the US, South Korea and the UK has developed a new wildfire and drought prediction model for southwestern North America. Extending far beyond the current seasonal forecast, this study published in the journal Scientific Reports could benefit the economies with a variety of applications in agriculture, water management and forestry.

Over the past 15 years, California and neighboring regions have experienced heighteneddrought conditions and an increase inwildfire numbers with considerable impacts on human livelihoods, agriculture, and terrestrial ecosystems. This new research shows that in addition to a discernible contribution from natural forcings and human-induced global warming, the large-scale difference between Atlantic and Pacific ocean temperatures plays a fundamental role in causing droughts, and enhancing wildfire risks.

“Our results document that a combination of processes is at work. Through an ensemble modeling approach, we were able to show that without anthropogenic effects, the droughts in the southwestern United States would have been less severe,” says co-author Axel Timmermann, Director of the newly founded IBS Center for Climate Physics, within the Institute for Basics Science (IBS), and Distinguished Professor at Pusan National University in South Korea. “By prescribing the effects of man-made climate change and observed global ocean temperatures, our model can reproduce the observed shifts in weather patterns and wildfire occurrences.”

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-atlanticpacific-ocean-temperature-difference-fuels.html#jCpAn international team of climate researchers from the US, South Korea and the UK has developed a new wildfire and drought prediction model for southwestern North America. Extending far beyond the current seasonal forecast, this study published in the journal Scientific Reports could benefit the economies with a variety of applications in agriculture, water management and forestry.

6. August 2017/by GFMCadmin