Fires, floods and a tragic train crash in which 57 people, mostly students, lost their lives left their mark on 2023.

On 28 Feb, a head-on collision involving a freight train and a passenger train carrying more than  350 people killed 57 and injured many others.

The Tempi train accident was one of the worst in the history of modern Greece.

The train was travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, its passengers mostly students returning home from a long holiday weekend.

The first carriage was engulfed in flames which consumed it entirely.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: 'Everything shows that the drama was, sadly, mainly due to a tragic human error.”

The accident highlighted the problems besetting the Greek railway network, while investigations into the exact causes were conducted.

In the summer, climate change confronted Greece with another challenge.

A blaze that began August 19 near the northern city of Alexandroupolis scorched more than 80,000 hectares of land.

The fire swept through the Dadia national park in Evros, leading to an unprecedented ecological  disaster in an area that was home to rare vultures, birds and mammals.

The fire raged for 17 days, making one of the worse fires in European history. It destroyed homes, triggered the evacuation of thousands of people, and was responsible for the death of more than 18.

Another fire on Rhodes burned for days, forcing hundreds of tourist to evacuate holiday resorts on the island.

The Attica region was also hit for a second time since 2021 when a major fire on Mount Parnitha turned large parts of the forest into ash.

And just as Greece was getting back on its feet after the deadly summer fires, it was hit by Storm Daniel, which swept homes away and claimed the lives of at least 17 people.

Thessaly in Western Greece was hit worst, as homes, roads and thousands of hectares of crops  and fertile land were covered with water. The towns of Koskinas and Palamas were almost wiped off the map.