Nearly half of Greek population affected by desertification: Report

Nearly half of Greece’s population lives in areas affected by desertification, according to a recent report cited Wednesday by Greek daily Tovima.

The report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) found that 47% of Greece’s population lives in areas directly affected by desertification, the second-highest share in Europe after the Greek Cypriot Administration at 61%.

Highlighting desertification as an emerging environmental and socioeconomic threat in Europe, the report placed Greece among the countries most severely affected.

It found that 72.74% of Greece’s territory showed at least one indicator of land degradation, compared with 56.4% across the European Union.

The report also found that more than one-third of Greece’s total territory is affected by desertification.

The figures ranked Greece third among European countries in terms of the share of territory affected by desertification.

Spain recorded the highest share at 53%, followed by Cyprus at 45%. Greece ranked third at 36%, ahead of Portugal at 28%.