Sweating under the brutal Athens sun on a hot August afternoon, Emil Kamenov tugged the armpit of his T-shirt and said, “Smell this.”
Particularly exposed as a street person, the 64-year-old was hiding in the shade.
With temperatures rising every year, the Greek capital’s homeless do what they can to beat the heat, with help from passersby, charities and the city.
“This year was very bad. Hot days — dizzy,” said Bulgarian-born Kamenov, who became homeless during the long Greek economic crisis that began in 2009.
“When the weather is really bad, I try the trees. But my spot is here,” he said from a bench with a view of his makeshift bed in a nook in the wall.
Greece set several climate milestones this year: its warmest winter, earliest heatwave and warmest June and July on record.
The mercury rose to 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) in June, while some areas suffered 40-plus temperatures for more than a week last month.
– Concrete jungle –
One of Europe’s hottest capitals, Athens is a densely-populated concrete jungle lacking in green space, making it ill-prepared for heatwaves.
The extreme weather is especially hard on the homeless.
“Because they live on the street, they are the most vulnerable,” said Myriam Karela, 57, a long-time volunteer social worker with the Hellenic Red Cross.
Climate change only compounds the problem. Scientists say it makes extreme weather events including heatwaves more likely, longer lasting and more intense.
“It’s getting worse. I see it every year,” said Michalis Samolis, a 67-year-old resident of a municipal homeless shelter in Athens.
“I’m outside 10 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So I see the difference clearly,” he told AFP.
Samolis stood at a busy metro exit holding the popular Shedia street newspaper sold by the poor and homeless.
“The train stations don’t have a cover. So you’re outside in the sun… You can stay there under the tree, but nobody will see you,” he said.
“Besides wearing a hat and cold drinks, I have my dark glasses. And I’m trying very hard,” added the former lorry driver who trained as an aircraft engineer.
“Because I have to work. I work to survive.”
– Less change in their paper cups –
The number of homeless in the city of more than three million is unknown, but it has swelled since the financial crisis.
Pantelis Spanos, 50, sat under the direct sun at a bustling crossroad, with a cardboard sign and a paper cup for change.
It was 36 degrees Celsius — “quite reasonable”, said the rough sleeper and former heroin user.
Spanos wore a bucket hat, dirty jeans and an Adidas tracksuit top.
“Believe it or not this protects. If I wear short sleeves, I sweat, and then the wind comes and you get cold,” he told AFP.
“Everything is studied to the last detail.”
Five minutes earlier someone had brought him water, Spanos said.
To his left was a neglected area of dilapidated buildings, drug addicts and shops run by immigrants.
Yet tourists enjoying cocktails and taking snapshots of the ancient ruins were just a stone’s throw away.
Beyond the heat, August is hard for Spanos because Athenians go on holiday so fewer euros get dropped into his cup.
– Air-conditioned spaces –
Homeless people looking for respite can access seven air-conditioned spaces made available by the city.
“In hot weather, the so-called Friendship Clubs… remain open until late in the afternoon and on weekends,” said Jeannie Yennimata, head of the Kyada municipal social support agency.
But persuading them to go is another matter.
“They don’t want to lose their post where they keep their things… Someone else will take it,” said Karela, the Red Cross volunteer.
She estimated that only a third of street people visit the rooms.
Earlier this month, the Red Cross distributed packages with necessities — including hats and ice cold water — to 150 homeless people.
The team also provided advice, first aid and psychosocial support.
While they hit the streets year-round to help, the climate crisis has turned their schedule on its head.
“For many years we were going out during the winter mainly… Now it’s more and more during summer,” Karela said.
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