File:Wildfires in Greece (MODIS).jpg

English: On July 17, 2023, multiple fires ignited across Greece in the wake of a blistering heat wave.

By July 18, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image, fires in the pine forests northwest of Athens had spread into a massive conflagration. The bright red marks are locations where the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument detected high temperatures which, in this case, are areas of actively burning fire. A plume of thick gray smoke was carried about 200 km (124 miles) towards the southwest by strong winds.

Greece requested the activation of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism to bring additional resources to assist Greece’s efforts to quenching multiple fires. Firefighters from France and Italy quickly responded, sending planes and other resources. By July 20, heat signatures from both Aqua and Terra MODIS showed that most of the fires appeared to be under control, with few “hot spots” showing and little or no smoke rising. However, strong winds began to pick up late in the day. According to several media reports these winds have fanned a resurgence in some of the fires, which are now growing once again.