Drones and the emergency number “112” are helping Greece deal with forest fires, reducing the number of victims even though more fires have broken out in recent years due to the climate crisis, as reported in a Bloomberg report.

The agency notes that forest fires have always plagued Greece, but have now become a summer staple across southern Europe as climate change creates more extreme weather. And he adds that the country is going through its worst fire season in two decades, dealing with around 4,000 fires since May 1. Although this is double the number compared to the same period last year, the death toll is much lower, with only one victim, Bloomberg notes.

And he points out that while governments are looking for ways to prevent fires, Greece is proving how it is learning to live with them. As an example, he cites the fire that broke out in the Varnava area on August 11, noting that “thanks to the drones, a helicopter dropped water within 5 minutes of the fire starting. The first fire engine was there within 7 minutes, according to authorities. Ultimately, more than 700 firefighters, dozens of planes and helicopters and about 200 vehicles were deployed.”

Bloomberg also cites the testimonies of a group of young people who were having lunch in an area northeast of Athens when a fire broke out and for whom the number “112” proved, they say, a lifesaver: “it’s much better to receive an alert, miss your meal and to move away, from running the risk of being caught in a fire.”

The publication also presents in detail the extensive preventive measures taken by the Greek government to deal with the risk of fires.

Over the past five years, Greece has increased the number of planes and helicopters for firefighting to 89 from 61. The emergency number “112” became operational as soon as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took office in 2019, Bloomberg notes, adding that in August The government announced €4.3 billion in measures to combat the effects of climate change, with some initiatives aimed at protecting forests and reducing fire risks.

According to Bloomberg, this follows a €2.1 billion procurement package unveiled in April that included amphibious aircraft, aerial surveillance drones and other fire detection and firefighting systems.

Characteristic, as the agency says, is the statement of the Greek Prime Minister from August 14: “We are not waiting for the solution to come from nowhere”, he said then, adding that “the work that needs to be done in the field of prevention is very important . I think we have laid some important first foundations in this direction.”

Bloomberg cites other measures taken by the Greek authorities that demonstrate their determination to deal with the fires: tightening of arson laws, as well as changing the law, now obliging private landowners to clear their plots of flammable dry land vegetation and submit electronic declarations to the authorities.