Despite the mainstream media’s catastrophic depiction of Europe’s wildfires, Greece’s climate change minister has revealed that the majority of the fires that have destroyed his country were caused by arson.
The bulk of the 667 fires that erupted across Greece in recent weeks, according to Greek Climate Change Minister Vassilis Kikilias, were “caused by human hand.”
Kikilias informed reporters that those involved were guilty of “arsons either by criminal negligence or by intention.”
While traditional media outlets have begun to acknowledge that arson is a major cause of the flames, they continue to assert that alleged climate change has made it easier for the fires to spread.
The Greek newspaper Kathimerini noted, however, that a significant element in the annual problem of wildfires is that “arsonists, who are usually tried for negligence since intent is extremely hard to prove, tend to get away with small sentences, rarely serve any prison time and face no other penalty for the terrible destruction they cause to humans, animals, the environment etc.”
The Greek climate minister reported that the fires have burnt 400 square kilometres of land in just the month of July, compared to the recent yearly average of around 500 square kilometres.
While devastating, it should be noted that far more land was burned in previous years, including the recorded high in 2007 when about four times as much land was burned.
“This is not something that will just occur this year. It will last and we have to face the consequences of what that means,” Kikilias said.
In recent days, almost 20,000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from their homes and hotels. It is estimated that 40 people have perished as a direct result of flames this season in Greece, Italy, and Algeria.