While the 2007 fires that killed 84 people and burned a record 270,000 hectares (667,185 acres) were the worst recorded, the summer of 2021 saw a 500 percent jump in the amount of land burned compared to an average from 2008-20.

This year's fires increased by 43 percent over those in that period but raged out of control despite the efforts of Greek firefighters and help from 22 countries, some 586 across the country at one point.

That included 66 large forest fires that burned 126,404 hectares (312,351 acres), or an average of 1900 hectares (4,695 acres) per forest, with the worst on Evia, Greece's second-largest island, where pristine woods were consumed.

The data came from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS – effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu) and showed Greece ranked first among the 15 Mediterranean countries that were examined, with Turkey second, said Kathimerini.

There was another major forest fire south of Athens in the area heading toward Cape Sounion that raged for five days and destroyed a major forest, while there were others in the Peloponnese and other regions of the country that burned trees.