Athens: In the Athens parliamentary square, The Evzones Parade under their red berets and hampered heat.
With sweat the beads on their forehead, the president’s guard coached their choreography in front of a group of tourists as a new Heatwave about the Greek capital.
“They are extraordinary, but they must suffer,” said Jim Grace, an Irish tourist who, held a bottle of water, watching them under the sun on fire.
“We adapt,” said his wife Esther Grace.
“We drink plenty of water and wear a sunscreen.” Dubbed the “dangerous” event because how long it will take place and the small difference between the maximum and minimum temperature, the heatwa is expected to reach the peak on Monday, with a temperature likely to reach 42 to 44 degrees Celsius (107 to 111 degrees Fahrenheit).
This is the second this year, part of a more frequent heat wave trend and an average temperature increase that drives the Municipality of Athens to appoint climate officers earlier this month to try and reduce heat.
At Monastiraki Square, Alexandra Hollarou dragged the cart full of candy through tourists who tried hat and straw hats.
“I will die in this heat,” he said.
His face was red, the 60-year-old shopkeeper made a parasol but “there are not many choices to protect themselves,” he said.
“It’s hard, it’s very difficult to work in this condition.” People who pass – while staying close to the wall looking for shade and air conditioning that blow up from the shops.
The cafe terrace is an oasis where the master and fan of water runs at full speed.
“We are not really ready,” Recognizing France Nicolas Deshayes.
“We left this morning from Paris where it was 15 degrees.” Eleni Myrivily, Athens climate officer, told the AFP situation would only deteriorate if nothing was done.
“In 2050, the number of rainy days will drop 12 percent and the temperature will increase by 2.5 degrees,” he said.
But he added “there is a solution” such as developing a green space in the city that looks like a sea of ​​concrete, helps people who are vulnerable and increase public awareness.
“We need to rethink the public space as a whole because the consequences affect the health of our population and our country’s economy,” he said.
“There are more accidents at work with increasing temperatures and people go to shops.” Greece has experienced a heat wave early this summer when the temperature reached 44 degrees Celsius for 11 days.
According to data from the National Observatory of Athens, this is the longest heat wave in Greece in 40 years.
“This climate phenomenon is becoming increasingly often,” said Constantinos Lagouvardos, said the research director of the Observatory Meteorology.
“Outside the heatwave, the most worrying thing is that the average temperature increases away summer after the summer.” The average for Athens is now 34-35 degrees, which is two degrees higher than in previous years, “he said.” It’s already the second summer heatwave, the third will be an unprecedented event.
“Some cities have opened air-conditioned shelter for homeless and vulnerable.
In Piraeus, at close range from the port where tourists escape to the islands, around 15 people.
Come every day to find a little pause in a center like that .
“This is the fourth time we opened the air-conditioned room this year,” said Argyro Koika, a social worker at the center.
The Ministry of Civil Protection has recommended protecting himself from the sun by living in shade and air-conditioned places, avoiding Physical activity and drinking water regularly.