The suburbs of Athens are raging. Wildfires have plagued the North of the city over the past weeks, shutting down the neighbourhoods of Nea Penteli and the town of Varnavas. They follow in the wake of temperatures that have again hit new highs: July in Greece was the hottest on record yet again, after setting a similar milestone for June. Wildfires have scorched a dark edge on the laid-back summer season for years and in some ways are part of the cultural landscape in Greece and across the wider Mediterranean. But their increased severity and encroachment on the Greek capital, one of the densest cities in Europe, is alarming.