Greece has announced plans to "urgently" overhaul its water management as temperatures continue to rise during a week-long heatwave.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday that his cabinet has discussed plans to make water companies more "viable", noting that reserves inAthenswere down 50 percent compared to three years ago.
According to the prime minister's office, there will be additional use of desalination technology and water reuse, adding that Greece globally ranked 19th in terms of drought risk.
TheNational Observatory of Athensrecently warned that following high temperatures and low rainfall in June almost all of Greece displayed above-normal drought levels for this time of year.
Temperatures continued to rise Wednesday in a heatwave expected to last until Sunday.
Between 40C and 44C are expected in the eastern, central, and northern inland regions, as well as on the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea, according to themeteo.grwebsite.
In Athens, the heat reached over 36C by around 1:30 pm local time yesterday and is expected to rise to 42C on Thursday.
To protect visitors and guards, Greek authorities have closed theAcropolisin Athens during the hottest hours of the day, between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm, until Friday.
'The asphalt is boiling'
The Greek government has also banned outdoor work in several sectors during peak heat to minimise health risks.
"It's inhumane to work in such conditions. The asphalt is boiling," Panagiotis Arvanitidis, a member of the food delivery workers' union in the northern Thessaloniki region, told AFP.
"The ambient temperature in my home over the past two days has exceeded 30C," said 50-year-old medical saleswoman Anna Spania.
"Without air conditioning, survival is impossible!" she added.
The heatwave's highest temperatures so far were recorded on Tuesday at Tragana, central Greece, at just under 45C.
A Mediterranean country accustomed to intense summer heatwaves,Greecelast year experienced its hottest summer on record.
(With AFP)
Originally published on RFI
