Greece fights dozens of wildfires in 'most difficult day of year'

Firefighters were battling a series of wildfires near the Greek capital Athens on Sunday evening, as the country braces for another scorching summer.

Greece faces a tough wildfire season after its warmest winter and earliest heatwave on record, with temperatures hitting 44°C.

"Today in Attica two extremely dangerous fires that broke out in residential areas and spread rapidly due to strong winds in Keratea and Stamata were tackled", Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said late on Sunday.

He said there was no longer an active front in Stamata, north of Athens, though there were some minor reignitions in the eastern area of Keratea.

He said "ground forces will remain in the field throughout the night".

Since Sunday midday, the authorities have called for the evacuation of at least eight areas near the capital, with flames destroying cars and houses.

Ert channel reported that a 45-year-old-man died from a cardiac arrest while trying to flee fires in suburban Athens.

According to the police, the man was found unconscious in the yard of a house in Rodopoli and taken to hospital where he died.

"Today is the hardest that the Fire Brigade has faced in this year's firefighting season," fire department spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis said on Sunday afternoon, during an emergency press briefing.

"The situation is very difficult, as strong winds continue to blow, they have not subsided and the outbreaks are many," the mayor of Lavreotiki, Dimitris Loukas, told Athens News Agency on Sunday afternoon.

However he said a nearby military air base was not currently in danger from the flames.

Fire brigade spokesman noted that wind speeds had exceeded 60kmph in Keratea, while in Stamata, the blaze was fanned by strong northerly winds exceeding 70kmph.

A fire also broke out Sunday in an industrial zone in Ritsona, near the island of Evia.

Black smoke filled the sky above Ritsona after the fire started in a recycling factory, burning various flammable materials that were in the grounds around it, including tyres and mattresses.

Firefighters are fighting to prevent the flames from spreading beyond the recycling plant to other factories in the area.