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Evia Island Wildfire

From the Archives: World Press Photo contest 2022

Panayiota Kritsiopi cries out as a wildfire approaches her house in the village of Gouves, on the island of Evia, Greece, on 8 August 2021.

Wildfires broke out on Evia - Greece's largest island after Crete - in July and August, following the hottest weather Greece had experienced in 30 years. The megafire took almost two weeks to bring under control. Local reports pointed to global heating and other contributing factors, such as rural depopulation, budget cuts in the fire brigade, and changes in fire management strategies. Kritsiopi is quoted as saying: "At that moment I was shouting not only for myself. For the whole village." In the end, her...

EUR-SIN-WIN-01
Image and text © World Press Photo, 2022