A study by a research team at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) has underscored the growing threats to Greece’s forestland due to climate change.

According to the study, the combined climatic phenomena of heatwaves and droughts have become defining features of Greece’s climate, significantly increasing the risk of wildfires in a country now recognized as a climate-change hotspot. Greece is already experiencing severe impacts, including water scarcity, extreme rainfall, and intense heat.

The EKPA study, led by Professor Konstantinos Kartalis of the Department of Environmental Physics and a member of the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Climate Change, highlights that wildfires have grown increasingly aggressive and difficult to control in recent years. Its findings are based on an analysis of 50 years of data, with a particular focus on the greater Athens area, which has suffered devastating fires that have drastically reduced its forestland.

“The effects of a compound event like a heatwave-drought are more severe, as the impact of each phenomenon does not simply add up, but rather intensifies the other, creating feedback cycles that prolong the duration of extreme conditions,” EKPA research team member Kostas Filippopoulos told Kathimerini.

The study found that the number of days experiencing both heatwave and drought conditions rose sharply to 152 between 2001 and 2023, compared to just 45 between 1974 and 2000 – reflecting a broader trend across the southeastern Mediterranean.

“Between 1971 and 2023, the highest number of days with concurrent heatwaves and droughts were recorded in eastern Crete, southern and western Peloponnese, Attica, Thessaly, and central Macedonia, with the latter two regions seeing the most extreme values,” said EKPA researcher Athina Zazani.

Looking ahead, the research team projects that between 2031 and 2060, the number of days combining heatwave and drought conditions will rise further across the country, with the eastern mainland, Crete, and the Cyclades expected to be hardest hit.