Thousands were forced to flee their homes as the massive blaze raged out of control for three days towards the capital earlier this month, swallowing up houses and cars and killing one woman.
Fanned by strong winds, the inferno that began at Varnavas, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Athens, reached suburbs at the foot of Mount Penteli, devastating some 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres).
With more than a third of the Mediterranean country's population of 10 million crammed into the capital's region of Attica, and the fires edging closer and closer to the city, experts are warning that the situation is becoming critical.
The National Observatory says 37 percent of forests around Athens have been consumed by fire over the past eight years alone.
"Attica has lost most of its forest, and now there is imminent danger for the people of Athens, in terms of polluted environment and risk of flooding" from soil erosion, said Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
"Where 100 years ago there were vigorous forests of pines, now forest vegetation is of weak and low pines and evergreen shrubs," the professor of forest fire science told AFP.
Fire meteorologist Theodore M. Giannaros, of the National Observatory, said the situation is aggravated by the "torrential rainfalls which unfortunately we are getting quite frequently".
He warned of soil erosion and flash floods which "I believe we will face during the coming winter".
Dimitrakopoulos said the loss of the forests will push Greece's already sweltering summer temperatures higher. This year the country saw its hottest June and July on record.
- 'Repeatedly burnt' -
Scientists say human-caused fossil fuel emissions are increasing the length, frequency and intensity of global heatwaves, raising the risk of wildfires.
"Attica can't lose more forest," fire ecology expert Dimitris Kazanis told AFP.
"The percentage is diminishing year by year. A solution must be found.
"In an area with so much cement, so many roads, so much noise, we need forests," said the lecturer from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
But the frequent fires are impacting the forest's ability to regenerate.
The Varnavas blaze struck an area covered by Aleppo pine -- a species that has evolved to cope with fire but which requires at least 15 to 20 years between fires to regenerate naturally.
"The area burnt has experienced many fire events in the past, some in very frequent intervals," said ecology professor Margarita Arianoutsou, also of the National and Kapodistrian University.
"This has already caused a serious problem. There are patches repeatedly burnt which need our intervention in order to be restored."
Reforestation and fire prevention studies were among measures unveiled this month by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
- Pines 'demonised' -
Some have called for the planting of other types of trees altogether, as pines burn very quickly because of their naturally flammable resin.
But forester Nikos Georgiadis, from the World Wide Fund for Nature, said people "have demonised the pines".
"If nature decides that the pines must be there, it's not easy to change."
The trick is to create a more resilient, mixed forest -- with some broadleaf or less flammable species -- and build green belts, said Georgiadis.
"You try to set these zones around settlements, so as to protect both forest and humans," he added.
Rather than blame the pines, experts fault the encroachment of urban areas into forest land.
"Where trees are burned, houses grow," said Dimitrakopoulos.
"It was very common in areas of high demand such as Athens... to burn forest in order to create land for construction," he said.
Most Greek fires are human-caused, through arson or neglect, he added.
Investigators believe a faulty electricity pole may have sparked the Varnavas fire.
"Where there are people, there is fire," said Dimitrakopoulos.
Used to fresh air, Brazil's modernist capital chokes on wildfire smoke
Brasilia (AFP) Aug 29, 2024 -
Brasilia's iconic futuristic buildings, designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, have been engulfed in a thick haze of smoke in recent days.
Several parts of Brazil are suffocating due to raging wildfires, but the fumes are new to the modernist capital, whose residents are used to expansive blue skies and clean air during the dry season.
"I have lived in Brasilia for 30 years, this is the first time I have seen this kind of smoke," said Moacir do Nascimento Santo, 47, a driver with two young children.
"(It) compromises our breathing, our vision, and it is worrying for the children -- they suffer with all this smoke," he told AFP.
Situated in the center of the country, Brasilia was carefully planned from scratch on an empty plateau to become the capital in 1960, and is now home to 2.8 million people.
Its wide avenues, organized neighborhoods and green, open spaces are a world apart from other Brazilian cities such as Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo -- and much less polluted.
Forest fires have been raging for several weeks in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon rainforest in the north and the immense Pantanal wetland in the center-west of the country.
The smoke engulfing Brasilia is a result of fires near the capital, but also winds bringing in smoke from other regions, particularly the southeastern state of Sao Paulo, several hundred kilometers away, where bushfires devastated thousands of hectares of agricultural land last week.
Authorities say most fires are human-caused.
- 'At war against fire' -
Many residents of Brasilia have resorted to using protective masks when venturing outside.
"This time of year is usually dry, but this is the first time I've seen the cloud of smoke," said Isaac Tomas, a civil servant in the Chamber of Deputies.
"It's very worrying. I already have problems with rhinitis during the drought, but now, with the smoke, it's even worse."
The Brasilia Environmental Institute on Sunday said the air quality was "very poor." The situation had improved by Wednesday but not in all parts of the city.
Local health services reported a spike in cases of rhinitis, asthma attacks, pneumonia and conjunctivitis.
At Santa Lucia Hospital, the number of patients treated for respiratory problems on Monday was twenty times higher than average, according to Lucas Albanaz, a manager at the facility.
The doctor said patients were "suffering from coughing, red eyes, dry mouth or skin, and symptoms of dehydration."
Brazil has long struggled with fires, largely linked to slash-and-burn techniques used for illegal agricultural expansion.
An extreme drought, linked by experts to climate change, has exacerbated the situation this year.
Environment Minister Marina Silva said this week that Brazil was "at war against fire and crime."
Due to the drought and "extreme temperatures," the government on Tuesday extended an order that requires organizers of concerts, festivals and other large events, including football matches, to provide free drinking water to spectators.
The measure first came into force last November, after the death of a 23-year-old woman at a Taylor Swift concert in Rio amid a heatwave.
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