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Greece is fighting a deadly fire on the island of Lesvos, as temperatures in some parts of the country exceed 40C (104F).

A person died in a burned-out car on Lesvos, where authorities are investigating whether the vehicle was scorched by a wildfire, or if it was involved in an accident that triggered the blaze.

Elsewhere, almost 100 firefighters 鈥� supported by 11 planes and five helicopters 鈥� are trying to contain a forest blaze in Korinthia, a region in the northeast of Peloponnese. Authorities are also battling a fire in Evros, a region that’s on very high alert for Friday.

Wildfires have been a risk across Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean for decades, but global warming is turbo-charging the threat they pose. Climate change is putting 2024 on track to be the world’s hottest year on record, intensifying extreme weather events such storms, floods and fires.

Today’s Fire Danger Forecast馃敟 shows “Very High” to “Extreme” Danger levels in large areas of several countries surrounding the Sea and the

鈿�锔�“Very Extreme” Danger levels are present in areas of 馃嚜馃嚫馃嚠馃嚬馃嚞馃嚪馃嚙馃嚞馃嚬馃嚪馃嚤馃嚲馃嚥馃嚘馃嚛馃嚳馃嚬馃嚦
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鈥� Copernicus EMS (@CopernicusEMS)

Greek authorities have placed several regions of the country on high fire alert, with hundreds of outbreaks since early June destroying properties and businesses.

Under a European Union initiative, Greece has also dispatched planes to help fight fires in Albania.

Albanian Defense Minister Niko Peleshi reported 23 fires in the past 24 hours, but just two remain active in the south of the country.

Daily map: Wildfires in Albania and the Mechanism response. 馃嚘馃嚤馃嚞馃嚪馃嚜馃嚭 鈫�
鈥� EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid 馃嚜馃嚭 (@eu_echo)

Photograph: Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire near Stamata, Greece on June 30, 2024; photo credit: Nick Paleologos/Bloomberg