Will there be more wildfires in Greece? Here’s what you need to know
Every summer, British tourists flock to the Greek mainland and the country’s sun-baked islands, with 4.5 million British people having visited in 2022.
But in recent summers, wildfires have ravaged large areas of the southern European country, leading to mass evacuations. Last summer tourists described being left in “a living nightmare” after 19,000 people on the island of Rhodes were forced to flee
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in July warned that this summer could be particularly dangerous, due to a prolonged and early drought, combined with unusually strong winds.
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🔥 Are there likely to be wildfires this August? | 🏝️ Which islands were affected last year? | 🛂 How could it affect my holiday?
🔥 Are there likely to be wildfires this August?
Wildfires have long been common in Greece, but hotter, drier and windier weather that scientists link to the effects of climate change has increased their frequency and intensity in recent years.
"It is a summer which is expected to be particularly dangerous ... The most difficult times are still ahead of us," PM Mitsotakis warned earlier this month.
Dozens of wildfires have already broken out this year, including on the islands of Kos and Chios, with the official wildfire season having begun on 1 May and expected to continue until 31 October.
The UK Foreign Office says there is a “high risk of wildfires” and says these are “highly dangerous and unpredictable”, although it does not advise against travel to Greece.
Greece has scaled up its preparations for this year’s wildfires by hiring more staff and increasing training, after forest fires last year killed 20 people in the north of the country and injured dozens more.
The country has already been using technology, including drones and data transmitters, to locate blazes early this year, civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias said.
🏝️ Which islands were affected last year?
There were major fires on popular destinations including Rhodes and Corfu, both of which saw evacuations last year.
But many popular tourist islands – there are 200 inhabited islands in Greece – were unaffected by the fires. Destinations including Mykonos, Kynthos, Naxos, Delos, and Alonissos were not affected at all.
Many of the affected areas last year were far from tourist destinations, with fires particularly affecting Dadia Forest near the border with Turkey, where migrants died in a blaze.
🛂 How could it affect my holiday?
The UK Foreign Office does not advise against travelling to Greece, so requests to cancel holidays would normally be ineligible for a refund.
It may be possible to change dates or even destination if you’re dealing with a travel agent or tour operator. If wildfires affect a particular destination, operators may cancel tours in which case tourists will be refunded.
But holidaymakers shouldn’t rely on insurance paying up, says Alice Lawson, associate director insurance at Holiday Extras.
“There aren't really any circumstances where insurance would help in the instance of wildfires," she said. "If wildfires break out at your destination and your provider therefore can't fulfil your contract, for example because it's too dangerous to travel, they'd be expected to refund or rebook your trip.
“If there are wildfires at your destination but holidays are still considered safe to continue, there's no recourse to insurance. If your holiday is going ahead but you decide not to travel just in case there's a fire, insurance wouldn't normally reimburse you for deciding not to fly.
“And if fires break out once you're there, it's once again a matter for your provider to evacuate you, not your insurance. If for some reason your provider can't fulfil their duty you may be able to claim against your insurance, but it's not usual for that to come up – in overseas emergencies in the past either the airline, holiday provider or in extreme cases the UK government have stepped in to get people home.”
