Smoke from the forest fires in Greece has now spread to other parts of the Mediterranean according to the National Observatory of Athens’ Meteo meteorological service.
The fires in Thrace are said to be releasing a significant amount of microparticles that have now made their way to Malta and southern Italy.
It is said that the climate conditions in the Mediterranean encourage the precipitation of gas and the microparticles, found closely to the ground.
A morning satellite image captured the smoke covering Mata and southern Italy on Wednesday, with the air quality extremely low in the region due to high concentration of PM10 and Pm2.5 particles.
On Thursday, hundreds of firefighters struggled to tame the deadly wildfires, that have killed 20 people so far.
In the 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday, firefighters in Greece tackled 104 fires, 69 of those being new wildfires.
One of these major fires was on the outskirts of Athens, burning into the national park on Mount Parnitha, one of the last green areas near the nation’s capital.
Nine fires are said to have been set in the space of four hours in the area of Avlona, in the foothills of the mountain.
In a television statement, Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said arson was to blame for some of the blazes near Athens.
“Some … arsonists are setting fires, endangering forests, property and above all human lives,” he said.
“What is happening is not just unacceptable but despicable and criminal.
“You are committing a crime against the country. We will find you. You will be held accountable to justice.”
Police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of allegedly setting three of the fires.
Greece has asked other European countries for assistance.
Germany, Sweden, Croatia, Cyprus sent aircraft, while dozens of Romanian, French, Czech, Bulgarian, Albanian and Slovak firefighters have been helping on the ground.
260 firefighters, including more than a dozen from France, battled the Parnitha fire supported by 10 planes and 11 helicopters.
Bulgarian, Albanian, Romanian and Czech firefighters with vehicles were helping in the Alexandroupolis fire.
