Shit, wild fires now on Corfu

[biggreentree]

We're booked to fly there next weekend.

And sometimes that's natural
And sometimes it's not
And sometimes the world has been too warm for humans to live on

I've just spoken to the owners of the apartments we're staying at and they're very clear it's fine. Some fires in the mountains. Apparently very common at this time of year.

A friend on holiday in Greek islands posted something similar this weekend - "don't worry about us, it's fine where we are". The next update 24hrs later was from his sister saying "spoke too soon, he's been evacuated from hotel and sleeping in a school hall till he can get flown home". So I do hope you're right and have a great hol but stay safe and keep your passports close (as per other thread where they were evacuated so fast they had nothing with them and their hotel burned down.)

I think because the papers are reporting on the situation in Rhodes a lot at the minute, it's giving people the impression that these fires are a new thing. Wildfires in the hot dry summer months are exceptionally common right across Europe from Portugal to Greece. I've lived in a few of these countries and dealing with them is part of the infrastructure of life there in the summer. The reason Rhodes is in the U.K. news presently is because British people (tourists) are involved. The wind has blown the fires out of the hills and towards the tourist resorts.

I'm not a climate change denier, it's something that concerns me a lot, but this mass hysteria over something that Greek people deal with year after year just because for once brits are caught up in it is grating.

Are people evacuated every year?

I would imagine the locals are never evacuated

Shame for them eh?

@bellac11

They are this year

@DatumTarum yes.

Are the fires on such a large scale in previous years?

Well I can't speak for the whole of Europe, but I've certainly seen large and very concerning wildfires before that have caused huge amounts of damage to wildlife and property and required large scale evacuations. However the ones I've seen have only impacted residents of that country, not tourists, so been reported nationally but perhaps not internationally. Interestingly I find that the wildfires out of Europe but in English speaking countries such as US and Australia are occasionally reported on here - especially when celebrity homes are involved.

Again climate change is real and the needs to be addressed but I just don't like this sudden panic because for once British people are involved. I also don't like the complaining about holidays being spoiled when again the people who live there are looking at losing their home, possessions and livelihoods.

Keep adding all those .38 degrees up and what will you get? Many degrees hotter that's what, life will become completely unsustainable in parts of the world. This will lead to crop failure, famine, massive displacement of people. It's not scaremonger fgs

@bellac11

Mountain villages have been evacuated

Wild fires are pretty common on hot countries. I live in Spain and we have warnings every year can't BBQ after April etc it seems this was caused by arson it's a combination of dry wood and carelessness I feel so sorry for those that have lost homes and businesses

Don't Look Up.

@bellac11 Then use your common sense & don't open threads in the holiday section with clear titles.

Friend’s family member lives in Greece, around a month ago (give or take) there were downpours and he blames climate change.

I think flights and holidays are now being cancelled going by the news headlines.

Very sad for the residents, but something I think will happen more regularly.

Some flights have been cancelled for a few days - it’s really not the end of the world for holidaymakers.

Most of the tens of thousands of people that booked to go on holiday to Rhodes or Corfu this summer, from June to September, will make it there and back with no issues.

Almost makes you think there’s an agenda with some posters 🤔

This. How so many people are lacking in self awareness is beyond me

Yes but not on this scale. If wildfires of this scale were routine every summer no holiday provider would host there, it would be too much of a gamble with refunds.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181113-five-myths-about-wildfires

It's mathematics. An increase in average UK temperature from the current highest average of 18.7 C to 19.5 C is 5.4%.

Try envisaging it in terms of sea level. The Atlantic Ocean is 10,932 foot deep. If that average depth were to increase by 5.4%, it would be 11,522 foot deep. A 590 foot or 180m rise. The place where the British Isles once existed would be deep, deep water with the occasional mountain peak popping out.

The effects upon the oceans isn't projected to be that high, I'm using it to illustrate the effect of a comparable scale of change on something you might be able to visualise, but when you're speaking globally, even the smallest number represents a clearly inconceivable for some quantity, volume or scale.

I do wonder if the insurance industry might start to take a view on the risk of payouts on summer holidays in hotter parts of Europe.

Absolutely shit for those who live in tourist areas.

“wildfires experts from Swansea University has said poorly-managed land and the effects of climate change have created "more flammable landscapes" on Greek islands - adding that similar fires could rage across Crete.”

From sky news.

I'm not saying they are on this scale. But they are more frequent than you might imagine. Last year we could see them through our window.

This was started by an arsonist apparently

As long as tourists want hit holidays they will be provided

There are wild fires in the south of France most summers. I know of a campsite that has only just opened having been closed for over a year due to wild fires. Then there is the flooding down in the south.

@IhaveanewTVnow what’s your point ? Climate change has been an issue for at least 40 years.