WHAT CAUSED THE FIRES?

After a dry winter and a summer heatwave in which temperatures shot up above 40°C parts of the country were like a tinderbox, emergency workers say. And when the fires broke out, gale force winds fanned the flames, causing them to spread rapidly.

But while fires are a frequent problem in Greece during the summer months, authorities find it suspicious that 15 blazes started up simultaneously within hours in three areas near Athens. They suspect it might have been the work of arsonists looking to loot homes.

Greece’s last major fire disaster was in 2007 when 77 people were killed in the southern Peloponnese peninsula.

But with record-breaking temperatures across Europe, Greece isn’t the only country battling wildfires.

In Sweden 50 blazes swept through forests amid the country’s worst drought in 74 years. This was as summer temperatures reached 30°C in the Swedish part of the Arctic Circle – several degrees above the norm.

And while environmentalists debate whether climate change could be the cause of the swelteringly hot weather, Greece was facing another problem.

Almost immediately after the fires were extinguished, summer rain storms caused heavy flooding in several parts of the country, closing off roads and leading to evacuations in towns southwest of Athens. Instead of battling flames, firefighters had to turn their attention to rescuing 160 people who were trapped in their homes as a result of flash floods.