Upside down world: drought and dryness in many places - in Greece there is suddenly an abundance of water
Created: 08/31/2022, 18:18
By: Patrick Freiwah
Rainy day on the island of Crete: Greece has an abundance of water in the summer of 2022.
© IMAGO/Nikolas Kokovlis
Greece often struggles with drought and forest fires in the months of July and August.
It will be different in August 2022: There is more water than there has been in years.
Athens - Greece is being hit by a weather phenomenon that the residents are not used to in this form: While drought and dryness prevail in some other regions in Europe, Greece only has to struggle with this problem to a limited extent.
Instead, the inhabitants of the Hellenic Republic are happy about an unusual amount of water in some regions.
According to the water company EYDAP, the water storage lakes for the greater Athens area alone, where more than a third of all the country's inhabitants live, are more full than they have been in years.
They currently contain around 1.14 billion cubic meters of water - and it continues to rain in many places.
It has even snowed on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain range in Greece, as reported by the Skai broadcaster.
Greece: Rain drives away drought - tourists with umbrellas
Responsible for the good water situation are the heavy, sometimes very heavy rainfall of the past few weeks and months.
They are unusual for the time of year in Greece, say meteorologists.
This was particularly felt by the tourists, who suddenly had to rely on umbrellas for days in the normally sunny and hot holiday regions of the country.
Even on Crete, far in the south of the country, as well as on the Peloponnese peninsula and the otherwise quite dry Cyclades islands such as Mykonos, Naxos and Paros, it rained again and again.
Meanwhile, scientists are warning of the impending consequences of water-related natural disasters:
Greece with a surprising turn in the weather - risk of fire in 2022 seems to have been averted
However, this meteorological turnaround also posed problems for some of the population: floods and power failures also occurred due to the precipitation.
In some places, farmers complained of hail and sleet, which destroyed crops.
Overall, however, the damage from the storm was kept within limits, explains the German Press Agency (dpa).
Instead, much to the relief of the people, the risk of fire was averted by the rain.
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Last summer, Greece was fighting devastating forest fires that destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of nature.
So far this summer, the forest fire balance has been rather mild.
The fire hazard is currently classified as low to slightly increased by the fire brigade nationwide.
Meanwhile, a small child died in a short but severe storm in Spain.
Images of the hailstones illustrate the danger that threatened from the sky.
(PF/dpa)