Brian McDonald
Three tourists, including an American, have died and five remain missing in Greece as the country battles extreme temperatures amid a series of heatwaves that have prompted authorities to close schools and historic sites.
The body of an American from New York, missing since Tuesday, has been found sunday on the island of Mathraki, local media reported. Another body was found on Saturday on the island of Samos, where a Dutch hiker had been missing for a week.
Earlier this month, the body of British television personality Dr. Michael Mosely was discovered days after he disappeared while hiking on the island of Symi.
Yui Mok/PA Images/Getty
Albert Calibet, 59, a retired police officer who holds dual French-American citizenship, was still missing on Monday after going on a hike alone on Tuesday morning on Amorgos Island. Two French women and an Israeli couple were also missing, according to Greek media reports.
A leader of the Greek rescue operation said tourists appeared unaware of the risks they faced walking in the extreme heat.
“We saw a couple [of tourists] walking a trail in 41C [105.8F] no hats,” Dimitris Katatzis told local media, according to the British newspaper Independent. “It defies logic.”
Greece has seen extreme temperatures arrive earlier in the summer season than ever before this year, according to meteorologist Panos Giannopoulos.
“This heat wave will go down in history. In the 20th century, we never had a heat wave before June 19. We had several in the 21st century, but none before June 15,” Giannopoulos told Greek state television channel ERT .
Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto/Getty
The heat has prompted government warnings, and last week the Acropolis and other tourist attractions were closed as winds from North Africa raised temperatures in Athens to about 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Schools and daycare centers were also closed and firefighters remained on high alert to respond to any fires.
“The early onset of heat waves, combined with the dry winter, led to a very difficult fire season,” said Vassilis Kikilias, Greek Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, according to the Independent newspaper.
High temperatures hit Greece after a European climate watchdog, the Copernicus program, said 2023 data showed that the continent experienced a record number of days of “extreme heat stress,” meaning temperatures felt like about 114 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
Copernicus said heat-related mortality in Europe has increased by around 30% over the past two decades.
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