Chios Fire Rages Out of Control as Smoke Reaches Cyclades

The massive wildfire in Chios continues to rage out of control across three fronts, which have been burning since early Sunday afternoon (June 22, 2025). Reinforcements for firefighting teams are arriving from other parts of the country. The affected areas so far include Barbasi, Evreti, Babylona, Karies, Dafnonas, Verberato, Chalkeios, Vasilioniko, Grou, and Ziphias. Smoke from the inferno in the northern Aegean has reached the Cyclades islands, as captured by Europe’s third-generation Meteosat-12 geostationary satellite. This advanced satellite’s high-resolution capabilities, multiple spectral channels, and rapid data refresh rates provide new opportunities for monitoring weather phenomena and environmental conditions. Using its data and applying appropriate algorithms, the National Observatory of Athens / meteo.gr managed to visualize the fire in Chios, visible from around 12:40 PM on Sunday. Hotter areas appear in yellow, while cooler areas show in orange and red. This visual product is experimental, with accuracy tested only at a preliminary stage. It is noted that the detection time does not necessarily coincide with the fire’s start time, and different algorithms may detect it earlier or later. Additionally, the mapped area should not be considered precise or definitive. In the accompanying video, the fire’s progression from 12:40 PM to 6:10 PM on Sunday shows smoke carried by strong northerly winds reaching Santorini (~220 kilometers south) within about 5 hours and 30 minutes. Two airships and eleven helicopters, one for coordination, were involved in aerial firefighting efforts until nightfall.