By Christy Cooney for BBC News
A firefighter at work during a wildfire in Varnavas, north of Athens, on August 12, 2024. Photo: AFP
One person has died as fierce wildfires spread in the suburbs of Athens in Greece on Monday.
The body, believed to be that of a woman, was found inside a shop in the town of Vrilissia, northern Athens, a source from the fire service told the BBC.
Thousands of people have been evacuated after firefighters warned that homes, businesses and schools were under threat, with fires expected to continue into Tuesday.
Fire service spokesman Colonel Vassilios Vathrakogiannis said while there was no longer a single active fire front in the north-eastern Attica region, which includes parts of Athens, there were still "many active localised blazes", mostly around the towns of Marathon and Penteli.
A house is burning in a wildfire in Varnavas, north of Athens, on August 12, 2024. Photo: Dimitris Lampropoulos/NurPhoto
In a statement, Colonel Vathrakogiannis added that conditions for new fires remained dangerous not only for Tuesday, but for further into the week too.
Greece has just experienced its hottest June and July on record.
More than 700 firefighters, 199 fire engines and 35 waterbombing aircraft have been involved in efforts to extinguish the fires, which first broke out on Sunday afternoon around 35km north of the Greek capital.
Aircraft were forced to land as night set in on Monday, but ground operations continued through the night.
Greece's National Observatory said on Monday evening satellite images showed that, by noon local time (10:00 BST), the fire had already affected around 100,000 acres (405 sq km).
In Penteli, three hospitals had to be evacuated, and one of the sites of the National Observatory was at one stage feared to be under threat.
The blaze also engulfed a timber factory, and elsewhere in the area a number of explosions were heard, most likely from fuel tanks and residential gas cylinders.
In response to the fires, European nations announced that they would be providing assistance to Greece, after its government activated the EU's mutual civil protection mechanism.
Italy is providing two planes while France and Serbia are providing one helicopter each, Col Vathrakogiannis said.
Spain, the Czech Republic and Romania are sending further vehicles, personnel, and aid.
Neighbouring Turkey is also preparing to send two planes and a helicopter, Foreign Minister Öncü Keçeli said.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would "stand with Greece as it battles devastating fires".
Officials said fires broke out in 40 different locations on Monday and that some areas saw flames as high as 25m.
In unprecedented scenes, people in Athens have been wearing facemasks to protect themselves from the smoke, which has blown into the city.
Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
This story was first published by the BBC.
