A forest blaze in Greece is "the largest wildfire ever recorded in the EU" and the bloc is mobilising nearly half its firefighting air wing to tackle it, a European Commission spokesperson said Tuesday. Eleven planes and one helicopter from the EU fleet have been sent to help Greece counter fires in the Dadia National Park, north of the city of Alexandroupoli, along with 407 firefighters, spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said. It is working on creating a standalone, EU-funded air wing of 12 aircraft that will be fully in place by 2030. Greece has been ravaged by numerous fires this summer, which the government attributes to climate change. The EU air deployment "underscores our commitment to swift and effective collective action in times of crisis," the EU's commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, said.

Source: News 24 August 30, 2023 00:38 UTC