City Loses Its Cool After Fire Destroys Forest

The effects of a wildfire that destroyed prime forest on Mount Parnitha, the Athens outcrop celebrated since antiquity, could take a century to overcome.

As ecologists assessed the damage wrought by the blaze last month, Athenians were told that the consequences would include even hotter temperatures and poorer air quality in a city blighted by pollution.

"The forests of Mount Parnitha were the last natural cooling mechanism left in Attica," said an Athens University professor, Matthaios Santamouris. "Now that they have been replaced [by a scorched landscape] the heat load will increase. Put simply, it is as if the number of cars in Athens has doubled. The climate of our city will change."

The fire broke out as the capital sizzled in temperatures that climbed to 46C (115F) last month. Public suspicion turned to arsonists, but the government has been censured most. The failure of authorities to coordinate efforts to put out the flames meant the fire raged for almost six days, scattering cinders across the capital and spreading through Parnitha's national park.

Greece's Socialist opposition leader, George Papandreou, described the damage as "biblical".

As well as hundreds of plants endemic to Parnitha, dozens of protected species of animals also died.

This week the government announced a €30m (£20m) package to protect the area