200 wildfires still burning in Greece as Canadian blazes smash emissions records 

Migrants accused of starting fires in Evros region, with xenophobic attacks increasing

Evros, in the Greek province of East Macedonia and Thrace near the border with Turkey, had been besieged by fire for the past week. Picture: AP /Achilleas Chiras

More than 200 wildfires are still burning in Greece, while emissions from Canada's blazes are nearly three times higher than the previous record nearly a decade ago.

According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (3CS), the emissions from Canada have exceeded 350 megatons, while the previous record registered in 2014 at 138 megatons.

To put it in context, using a calculator from the US Environmental Protection Agency, a megaton — which is one million tonnes or a billion kg — of emissions would be similar to the pollution from 222,500 cars driven in a year, more than 500,000kg of coal burned, or 2.3 million barrels of oil consumed.

Meanwhile, Greek firefighters are continuing to battle 209 wildfires, as reports emerge of local militias attempting to thwart migrants crossing into the Evros region from neighbouring Turkey.

Evros, in the Greek province of East Macedonia and Thrace near the border with Turkey, had been besieged by fire for the past week.

Some 18 bodies were found in the region earlier this week, believed to be migrants.

Xenophobic attacks

Although police say lightning is the likely cause of wildfires in the Evros region, the situation has become tense, with outbreaks of xenophobic attacks on migrants reported.

Greek Supreme Court chief prosecutor Georgia Adilini ordered an investigation into whether the wildfire was started as part of “an organised plan” by xenophobic agitators as well as probing an “alarming phenomena of violence” and “racist pogroms" against migrants.

Social media was awash with videos in the wildfire-blighted areas of people "hunting" down migrants, while the far-right Greek Solution Party accused migrants of starting the fires.

Smoke from wildfires fills the air as motorists travel on a road on the side of a mountain, in Kelowna, British Columbia, on Saturday. Picture: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

C3S said the cumulative fire carbon emissions for Greece in 2023 are already significantly higher than the average for the past 20 years in July and August, while total fire carbon emissions for Greece in 2023 are already the third highest on record, behind 2007 and 2021, but continuing to rise sharply.

Air quality is also becoming an issue, with the smoke drifting from the Evros region in the northeast to the centre of the country, and as far as Crete and even southern Italy.

In the US, air quality in New York City and Chicago has been recorded as the worst in decades as it deals with the fallout from the fires in Canada that have burned throughout the summer.

A Bloomberg City Lab analysis found smoke spiked dangerous levels of particulate matter in New York and Chicago on more days than any other June and July since the Environmental Protection Agency started tracking it 23 years ago.

Particulate matter is all solid and liquid particles suspended in air, such as dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Air quality issues leads to more than four million avoidable deaths annually.