- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
Lakes drying up leave Greeks in despair
Lake Koronia, one of largest in Greece, is shrinking after a prolonged drought and a summer of record-breaking temperatures, leaving behind cracked earth, dead fish and a persistent stench.
Where once fishermen pulled trout and tench into their boats, youths on motorbikes now joyride in the dust.
Locals say they can see the 42-square-kilometre (16-square-mile) expanse of water near Thessaloniki retreating day by day -- a fate shared by three other important natural lakes in Greece's Central Macedonian breadbasket.
"The stench from the lake is getting very bad. If we don't get enough snow and rain, the problem will get worse next year," said local community leader Kostas Hadzivoulgaridis.
"We need (officials) to take immediate action to protect the lake," the 50-year-old told AFP.
Water levels at three other natural lakes in the region -- Doirani, Volvi and Pikrolimni -- are also at their lowest in a decade, according to data last month from the Greek Biotope Wetland Centre.
Over the last two years, rainfall in the region has been "very low" and the temperatures recorded this year were the highest in the last decade, according to Irini Varsami, a local hydrologist.
As well as losing water directly through evaporation, the lake is being drained by the "increasing irrigation needs of (farmers in) the surrounding area", one of the important food-producing plains in the country.
- 'We hope for rain' -
While the shores look like a lunar landscape bereft of life, flocks of migratory pink flamingos graze in the low water further in.
Anthi Vafiadou, a regional supervisor for the Greek state environmental protection agency, said it was "too early" to draw conclusions on the impact of the drought on the lake's biodiversity.
"We must see how the winter season evolves. We hope there will be more rain," she told AFP.
But what is certain, according to the Biotope Wetland Centre, is that climate change is putting huge pressure on the lakes.
According to the national observatory, Greece had the warmest winter and summer on record since reliable data collection began in 1960.
Greece's environment ministry this week unveiled a multi-billion-euro plan to boost the water supply and limit rampant water loss through poor management.
- 'Completely disappeared' -
Less than an hour's drive to the north is a bleak vision of what the future might hold.
Pikrolimni, or "Bitter Lake", is the only salt lake in mainland Greece.
But Pikrolimni is a lake in name only now. All that remains are the patterns formed by the water that evaporated during the prolonged drought.
Hotels and a mud spa around its edge lie abandoned.
"This is the first summer that the lake has been in such a state. There has been no rain, the water has completely disappeared and the lake has literally dried up," said Argyris Vergis, an 80-year-old local.
"This area used to be busy with tourists, but now you can see motorcyclists racing on the lake on the internet. It's tragic," the retired bank worker said.
A.Seabra--PC