More than 200 fires have broken out in Greece

Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features the northeastern region of Greece near Alexandroupolis, where a fire produced a plume of smoke that stretched hundreds of miles southwest toward Italy.

‘A month after fires tore across parts of Greece in July 2023, dozens more fires ignited across the country in late August 2023,” said NASA.

“Smaller plumes are visible from other fires burning elsewhere across the nation that day. According to news reports, fires near Athens burned homes and cars, and sent smoke wafting over the capital city.”

By Wednesday, hundreds of firefighters were battling 209 new fire outbreaks that sprung up over three days, and the fires had begun spreading into Turkey.

The New York Times reported that Greek firefighters recovered the bodies of 18 people who they believe may be migrants in the Evros region of northern Greece, close to Alexandroupolis.

Dry conditions after a series of prolonged and intense heatwaves, combined with strong winds, are fueling the fires and making them difficult to control. 

The image was captured on August 22, 2023 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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