Valia Kelidou still can’t believe it. His family owned more than 12,000 olive trees on the outskirts of Alexandrópolis until the fire broke out. Well over a thousand trees have now burned down to black stumps and the forest floor is covered with a thin layer of white ash.
Even though the fire has long since gone out, the acrid smell of smoke still lingers in the air. “We have built a company here that exports all over the world. Our oil wins important awards. And then you stand there and watch as the fire gets closer and closer and everything you built just goes up in flames,” says Kelidou.
Fires are not uncommon in the mountainous and wooded area of the border river Evros. However, in recent years their intensity has increased. It is now clear: never in the history of the EU has there been such a serious fire and so many areas destroyed as in the last few days in the Evro region. The European Union’s (EU) Copernicus Earth observation program came to this sad conclusion after evaluating satellite images.
In the northeast of the country, on the border with Turkey, an area of 770 square kilometers was in flames. The university hospital in the provincial capital Alexandroupolis, not far from the olive groves of Kelidou, had to be evacuated when the flames reached the site. Schools and residential buildings were damaged and several volunteers were injured fighting the flames.
Valia Kelidou from Alexandrópolis has lost more than a thousand olive treesPhoto: Florian Schmitz/DW
Without prevention there is no solution
“Luckily the old olive grove did not catch fire, one of the oldest olive groves in the Mediterranean. There are more than two thousand trees, all over a thousand years old,” says Kelidou, relieved. But suddenly the world changed for her. Even before the fire, the climate crisis and inflation were putting business under pressure. Now they and other affected olive farmers have to plant new trees Kelidou estimates it will take 20 years before they produce normal amounts of fruit. The region on the TurkishGreek border is considered economically weak and the fires are now likely to make the situation worse.
Kelidou is angry at the authorities and especially at the politicians. “Evacuations cannot be the only solution!” Like other affected people, she does not simply want to give up her property, but is demanding better fire protection. “I don’t work in the fire department and I’m not a forestry engineer, but when there’s a fire across the country, you need to be able to predict better what to do.”
Nature reserve in flames
In northern Greece, the fire spread to different places at the same time. The outbreaks were so close together that firefighters feared the flames would merge into a single major fire. In addition to the fire in Alexandrópolis, there were also fires in the Rhodope Mountains and in the Dadia National Park, a unique nature reserve in Europe. With an exceptionally diverse flora and fauna, it is a nesting area for rare species of birds of prey, which build their nests in the old pine trees typical of the forest.
In just a few days, 77,000 hectares of forest were burned down in the Evros river regionPhoto: Florian Schmitz/DW
“It will take some time before the damage caused by the fires can be accurately quantified,” says Sylvia Zakkak, biologist and deputy head of the park administration. It is clear that a large part of the area has been affected by the fires, but she assumes that not everything is completely forested, so certain parts may regenerate faster than others.
Now it’s about finding a shortterm solution. “We are currently providing wildlife with food and water to prevent them from leaving the region,” explains Zakkak. He is in close contact with experts from other nature reserves. As always at this time of year, many of the birds of prey have already migrated to Africa. So it remains to be seen how they will react when they return to Dadia to breed. “It is a challenge to protect the forest. There are a lot of stakeholders involved here.”
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Adverse lathrometanastis
The fires not only destroyed nature reserves and livelihoods, but also sparked renewed heated debate. The Evros area has been on the migration route from Turkey to the EU for decades. They were repeatedly pushed back from Greece to Turkey in socalled pushbacks, with violence, sexual assaults and robberies not being uncommon. That’s why refugees avoid wellknown routes: To avoid the authorities and illegal deportation, many hide in forests.
This search for protection became a deadly trap for 18 refugees, only their charred bodies were discovered in Dadia National Park on August 22nd. However, the incident left a large part of the Greek population indifferent. In Evros, refugees are often referred to as lathrometanastis (illegal immigrants), a term with negative connotations that dehumanizes them and suggests that they are being smuggled like cigarettes or alcohol.
Militias are hunting refugees
But wildfires don’t just trigger harsh rhetoric. “They are definitely hunting migrants,” said a taxi driver from Alexandrópolis on the weekend after the deaths, pointing to a car that was overtaking all other vehicles at high speed. And he adds: “After all, they started the fire.”
The fear of fires has turned into hatred, the victims are declared criminals and hunted. A few days ago, a man was arrested for trapping a group of 13 migrants in a caravan and claiming they had set fire to the forest.
The charred bodies of 18 refugees were found in this hutPhoto: Alexandros Avramidis/Portal
In a video posted on social media, he proudly opens the door of the trailer a crack, the light falls on the face of a frightened man, and behind him the other prisoners can be clearly seen. Users commented: “Don’t hate them. Set them on fire!”
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis condemned the act and assured that the police and judiciary are doing their jobs and that anyone who does not obey the law will be prosecuted. But this hunt for refugees is nothing new.
The migration researcher Lena Karamanidou grew up in Evros and has been struggling with growing hatred against refugees in her homeland for years. She recalls that during the migration crisis in February and March 2020, when thousands of migrants were stuck between the Turkish and Greek borders, militia groups persecuted them and often resorted to violence.
“State institutions and the media justified these acts at the time as a legitimate defense of the region, the border and the nation itself against the ‘hybrid’ threat from Turkey,” explains Karamanidou. This mentality continues today: “Although the recent acts.” “The recent acts of violence are condemned by the state, the violence as such was encouraged by the state.”
How climate change has impacted 2022
Heat, drought, fires, extreme storms, floods the year was once again marked by many weather events that were directly or indirectly influenced by climate change. A retrospective in pictures.
general.image.copyright_prefix Thomas Coex/AFP
In Europe, 2022 was hotter and drier than ever before (August)
Extreme heat and the worst drought in 500 years characterized the summer in Europe. In Spain, more than 500 people died in the strongest heatwave ever recorded in the country, with temperatures exceeding 45°C. In the United Kingdom the thermometer reached 40°C for the first time. Parts of the continent have never been so dry in the last thousand years and many regions have rationed water.
general.image.copyright_prefix Thomas Coex/AFP
Severe fires devastated Europe (July)
From Portugal, Spain and France in the west to Italy to Greece and Cyprus in the east and Siberia in the north, forests burned across the entire continent in 2022. By midyear alone, around 660,000 hectares had burned due to fires, a record since records began in 2006.
general.image.copyright_prefix /Service CommunicationProtocole SDIS 33/AP/dpa/picture Alliance
Severe floods in Asia (September)
Extreme monsoon rains fell over Pakistan. About a third of the country is under water, 33 million people have lost their homes, more than 1,100 have died and disease is spreading. Afghanistan was also hit by extremely heavy rains. Thousands of hectares of land were destroyed. Hunger in the country is getting worse.
general.image.copyright_prefix Stringer/Portal
Heat, drought and typhoons hit Asia (August and September)
Before the floods, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as India, experienced extreme heat and drought. China has experienced its worst drought in 60 years and the worst heat on record. Twelve typhoons hit China in the fall. South Korea, the Philippines, Japan and Bangladesh also suffered from severe storms that are becoming increasingly severe due to climate change.
general.image.copyright_prefix Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo/picture Alliance
Dramatic consequences in Africa
The climate on the African continent is warming faster than the global average. Africa is therefore particularly affected by changes in rainfall, droughts, storms and floods. In Somalia, the 2022 drought was the worst in 40 years. A million people had to leave their homes. In the photo: Floods in Senegal in July.
general.image.copyright_prefix ZOHRA BENSEMRA/Portal
Flight and hunger in African countries
Droughts and floods are making livestock breeding and agriculture more difficult in more and more regions of the African continent. As a result, more than 20 million people are at risk of starvation, especially in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.
general.image.copyright_prefix Dong Jianghui/dpa/XinHuapicture Alliance
North America: Fires and Floods
At the end of the summer there were severe fires in the northern hemisphere, especially in the US states of California, Nevada and Arizona. A heat dome formed in all three states with temperatures reaching 40°C. At the beginning of the summer, heavy rains caused severe flooding in Yellowstone National Park and the state of Kentucky.
general.image.copyright_prefix DAVID SWANSON/Portal
America and the Caribbean: Violent hurricanes
In September, Hurricane Ian caused widespread devastation in the US state of Florida. The authorities spoke of “damage of historic proportions”. Ian had already traveled through Cuba, where he caused a power outage for several days. Tropical Cyclone Fiona has moved along the east coast of Canada after initially causing severe damage in Latin America.
general.image.copyright_prefix Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images
Tropical storms devastate Central America
Fiona didn’t just pursue Central America. In October, Hurricane Julia caused severe devastation in Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. Due to global warming, ocean surfaces are warming, making hurricanes more powerful.
general.image.copyright_prefix Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/Image Alliance
Extreme drought in South America
There is persistent drought across almost the entire South American continent. In Chile, for example, this has been happening since 2007. Since then, water levels in streams and rivers have declined by 50% to over 90% in many regions. Regions of Mexico have had little rain for several years in a row. Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Panama as well as parts of Ecuador and Colombia are also suffering from drought.
general.image.copyright_prefix IVAN ALVARADO/Portal
Floods in Australia and New Zealand
In Australia, heavy rains caused severe flooding on several occasions in 2022. From January to March it rained all year round both on the east coast and in Germany. New Zealand was also affected. This is due to the La Niña climate phenomenon, which is being exacerbated by climate change as the warmer atmosphere absorbs more water and precipitation increases.
general.image.copyright_prefix Jenny Evans/Getty Images
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