The new mayor of Athens will plant 25,000 trees over the next five years to try to cool down the growing Greek capital, AFP reported.
The scorching summer heat can make the city of tightly packed concrete offices and apartment blocks almost unbearable, with temperatures exceeding 40 °C.
Former energy professor Harris Ducas, who was elected in October, faces a terrifying combination of pollution, rising temperatures, and congestion.
His answer is the planting of 5,000 trees a year to create "cool routes" of shade connecting the streets, parks and urban hills of Athens.
"High temperatures, pollution, and loss of greenery create conditions where the city center is unbearable in the summer," Doukas said.
Part of the total investment includes 3,000 trees at the Panathinaikos club's new sports complex in the Votanikos industrial area, due for completion in 2026.
Last summer, Athens experienced a prolonged heat wave in which temperatures consistently exceeded 40°C.
The National Observatory of Athens reported that July was the warmest on record since it began keeping records in 1863.
"To make matters worse, almost a quarter of the trees in the mountains around the capital have been destroyed by forest fires in the last 6 years," the mayor said.
Last year, the EU's Court of Justice condemned Greece for failing to take action against nitrogen dioxide levels in Athens that have "systematically" exceeded legal limits over the past decade. /BGNES
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