With temperatures soaring to or beyond 38C, dry conditions and strong winds are fuelling the fire. Mr Vathrakoyannis cautioned that under such circumstances, wildfires "expand very quickly and become dangerous. These conditions are expected to prevail over the coming days."

“Causing a wildfire or a forest fire is a criminal offence in Greece – even if unintentional. If you see a fire, call the emergency services on 112. “Be cautious if you are in or near an area affected by wildfires: “For further information, see Greece’s Civil Protection website (in Greek).

Greece and Turkey continue to battle major wildfires amid a severe heatwave. Temperatures reached 42.4C in central Greece at the weekend, with emergency services battling fires in the Peloponnese area of Athens and on the popular tourist islands of Kytheria and Crete.

Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and prompted evacuations for a second day on Sunday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.

A wildfire has burned through a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, prompting evacuations. On Saturday, residents of Kryoneri received three SMS messages to evacuate to safe areas.

A wildfire burned through a suburb of Athens today and some residents were ordered to evacuate - photos show houses on fire, damaged buildings and firefighters at the scene