Volos: Five people were killed in wildfires that had been burning across Greece for two weeks when Greek fire crews scrambled to put them out on Thursday.

Along with a fresh front that erupted on Wednesday in central Greece, hundreds of firefighters supported by reinforcements from the European Union were battling to put out the fires on the Greek islands of Corfu, Evia, and Rhodes.

Another fire that started early on Thursday near residences in the lush Kifissia neighbourhood of Athens was quickly put out. Since July 13, more than 600 wildfires have reportedly started across the nation, according to officials.

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On Thursday, there is an extremely high risk of fire in more than a dozen Greek regions, according to the civil protection ministry.

At the height of the busy travel season, tens of thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated, including 20,000 people on Rhodes. On Wednesday, a deadly fire near the city's industrial area in Volos claimed the lives of two people.

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In a coastal area close to Volos, an elderly disabled woman was discovered dead inside her burned-out camper van, and a cattle farmer was killed while attempting to save his livestock.

On Thursday, the industrial area was shut down out of caution. Early in the morning, six communities and villages in the vicinity of the city of almost 140,000 inhabitants were evacuated, and more were put on standby.

After a protracted heatwave, temperatures are expected to drop on Thursday, but near-gale winds could make it more difficult to put out the fires.
The upcoming days will be "difficult" because of the heatwave and the strong winds it will bring, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the cabinet on Wednesday.

As with nine other Mediterranean nations, we are experiencing hazardous summer weather, said civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias in a televised speech on Wednesday.

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According to Kikilias, "very high temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius and intense winds have created fire fronts of many kilometres," and crews are battling through "inconceivable fatigue."

The heatwaves that have affected parts of Europe and North America this month would have been nearly impossible without human-caused climate change, according to scientists from the World Weather Attribution group this week.

On Wednesday, the office of the EU crisis management commissioner announced that more than 490 firefighters and seven planes had been sent to various locations in Greece as part of the EU's civil protection system.