Greece is boosting the staff of firefighting special units to 1,300 people and adopting tactics from the United States to try to flank fires using aerial drops, local media report.
With financial support from the EU, Athens has launched a €2.1 billion program to modernize its disaster response capabilities, ordering new water-dropping planes, drones, fire trucks, training centers and an AI-based sensor network to detect early signs of smoke and flooding.
Until the new equipment arrives, expected no earlier than 2025, Greek authorities are doubling efforts to train and implement new firefighting methods, as another challenging season is expected this year.
The wildfire season in Greece officially begins on May 1, but dozens of fires have already been extinguished in the past month after temperatures began reaching 30 degrees Celsius at the end of March, significantly higher than previous peaks recorded over the last decade.
According to local firefighters, using water is no longer their primary weapon against fires, so they are employing a more scientific approach, including measuring humidity and wind.
