The evening had crept into the Mystical dorm room. Verum saw a reddish glow from the corner of her eye. Expecting a magnificent sunset, she looked up from her homework but that was not the case. The reddish glow was coming from her corner of the Mystical dorm room.
She said, “Crystal ball, you’ve already told me the news about the wildfires in Turkey! Have you become so absent-minded?”
Her crystal ball hummed indignantly in response. Verum took a closer look and cried out, “Oh, my MysticLord! These wildfires are raging in Greece!”
“What? Why?” said a shocked Orak. He wondered if they had spread from Turkey to Greece somehow. But no, the Aegean Sea separates the two countries.
“Over 150 fires have been reported across Greece. At least six areas have been put on alert. Thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated from the towns to the north of Athens, the capital city,” said Verum, “Athens has been struck with huge clouds of smoke and ash!”
She added, “Along with Athens, fires have also broken out in the nearby island, Evia, and in areas close to ancient Olympia. In fact, the residents of Evia had to be evacuated through ferries.”
“That sounds serious,” said Scorch.
“But why did wildfires break out in Greece,” questioned Felix.
“Like the rest of Europe, Greece also experienced extreme weather conditions in the summer. Why? Climate change, of course. It increases the risk of hot weather that can fuel wildfires,” said Verum, “Along with this, strong winds and high temperatures are making it difficult for firefighters to control the fires.”
“Oh, no,” said Scorch.
“But hundreds of firefighters are risking it all to control them. They are aided by about 20 water-bombing aircraft,” said Verum, “Countries like the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and France are sending additional firefighters and planes to help Greece.”
“Okay, that is reassuring,” said Felix, “But this just proves the seriousness of climate change.”