PM Mitsotakis: Winter preparations key to combating summer wildfires

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended an event at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection to assess the firefighting season on Tuesday afternoon. "The number of forest fires this year was significantly lower than the average for the past two decades," he noted. He also discussed the use of drones, noting that this year the tactic changed with the very rapid response to fires after their detection. He stated that the use of drones should be expanded in the forthcoming year and highlighted that this approach was effective and that donor funds were well spent. Mitsotakis stressed that complacency is not an option, given the altered climatic circumstances. "The climate crisis is a reality." Statistical analysis indicates that conditions will deteriorate further. It is imperative that our level of preparedness is increased. "The work we do in the winter will be what we face next summer. We must continue with even greater intensity," he emphasised.Mitsotakis noted that Greece secured a significant investment programme for civil protection from Europe and that Greece is at the forefront of modernising civil protection infrastructure.