Greek prime minister warns of dangerous summer for wildfires

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday the country faced a dangerous summer for wildfires, with a prolonged drought and unusually strong winds contributing to tinderbox conditions.

Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but hotter, drier and windier weather that scientists link to the effects of climate change has increased their frequency and intensity.

This weekend, dozens of fires broke out across Greece, including two close to the capital, Athens.

"It is a summer which is expected to be particularly dangerous … the most difficult times are still ahead of us," Mitsotakis said as he addressed his cabinet.

"We had a very difficult June in terms of weather conditions with high drought and unusually high gusts of wind for the season," he said, praising firefighters for managing to contain the weekend fires.

Mitsotakis...