The Med is now too hot for summer holidays

Telegraph

a day ago

Most of us like a bit of sunshine on our holidays, but when does hot become 'too hot'? If ambulances are on standby at resorts, air-con fuelled 'climate shelters' are being set up and the elderly are being advised to stay indoors, you could argue that the answer is: now.
A heatwave has hit large swathes of Europe including France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In Spain, a June temperature record of 46C was set on Saturday afternoon in El Granado, Andalucia, while France has issued a heat warning in 84 of the country's 96 mainland departments.
As a 'heat dome' envelops much of the Continent, the mercury has hit 42C in Seville, with Athens (37C), Rome (38C), Madrid (37C), Bordeaux (39C) and Lisbon (38C) also set to experience exceptionally high temperatures this week. Even Germany is bracing for 40C temperatures by the middle of the week. London, by comparison, is forecast to peak at a comparatively balmy 33C.
'Extreme heat is no longer a rare event – it has become the new normal,' said António Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, at a development conference in Seville on Monday.
So how long will tourists continue to tolerate such extreme weather patterns?
Global temperatures are rising, year on year
Globally, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with average temperatures exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for the first time.
Last year was also Europe's warmest since records began. Southeastern Europe, in particular, was affected by record-breaking heat and drought conditions. If you went on holiday to Greece, Turkey or Croatia, there's a strong chance that you would have endured tropical nights and heat stress days: of the 97 days of summer, 43 were heatwave days.
Things are only expected to get hotter. The World Health Organisation says: 'Heatwaves and prolonged excess heat conditions are increasing in frequency, duration, intensity and magnitude due to climate change.'
If rainfall patterns between 1973 and 2002 continue, by 2050 some parts of southern Spain could shift to a steppe or even desert-like climate, according to a report by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Heatwaves are particularly intense in cities due to the 'urban heat island' effect, where temperatures are amplified amongst tightly packed buildings. The gradual disappearance of green space in cities has also contributed to this effect. Although high inner-city temperature readings, often shared on social media, are generally higher than the true temperature, given that their sensors are often exposed to direct sunlight with scorching road surfaces just below.
Tourists suffer a 'false sense of security'
There are around half a million heat-related deaths every year, a number far greater than the average number of people who die in wars or due to terrorism. Those at greatest risk include the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions, as well as people who work outdoors who cannot avoid heat stress.
But tourists are also in the high-risk category. Last week, a holidaymaker died of heatstroke on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The 34-year-old Dutch man was hiking with friends near Soller when he collapsed. Last year, Dr Michael Mosley died aged 67 after going missing on the Greek island of Symi in high temperatures. His cause of death came back as 'indeterminate' but a coroner said it was most likely attributable to either heatstroke (accidental) or a non-identified pathological cause.
In a 2023 study by the University of Roehampton, researchers found that the human body stops functioning optimally when outside temperatures exceed 40C. Participants were exposed to different temperature conditions at varying air humidities. At 40C at 25 per cent humidity, the metabolic rate (at which the body expends energy) increased by 35 per cent. In effect, this means the body has to work very hard to stay cool.
Deeply ingrained behavioural factors won't be helping Britons abroad. Dr Stephen Wood of Northeastern University in Massachusetts tells The Telegraph: 'Tourists are especially vulnerable to heat stroke and related illnesses for a few key reasons. Travel often involves a lot of walking and sightseeing, frequently in the hottest parts of the day, without sufficient hydration or rest.
'They may also wear clothing that isn't ideal for the climate or skip sun protection altogether. Plus, tourists might not recognise the early signs of heat illness, or they may ignore them in the excitement of exploring a new place. All of this adds up to increased risk, especially in hot, humid destinations or during heat waves,' Dr Wood adds.
Locals, on the other hand, are more likely to take sensible precautions. Bex Colwell, who lives in the part of Sicily that recorded Europe's highest ever temperature in 2022 (48.8C), told The Telegraph this week: 'Locals are shutting themselves away in dark houses during the days, with windows and shutters closed.'
Behavioural considerations aside, people from northern Europe are inherently at greater risk of heat-related illnesses.
'People living in warm climates tend to acclimatise and not increase their body temperature and in turn their metabolic rate as much,' said Dr John Higgins of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) in an interview with Medical News Today. 'Likewise, people living in cool-freezing temperatures may get more of a response to heat exposure as they are not acclimatised to the heat as much.
'Body temperature and metabolic rate are integral components of this delicate dance, and for those who are resident in hotter climates year-round, it may be more likely for such countervailing feedback loops to be active and functioning,' Dr Higgins added.
The solution? Norway, or autumn
Some southern Europeans appear to be actively seeking cooler climates to swerve the summer heatwaves. The Scandinavian airline SAS says bookings from southern Europe to Norway have surged, with arrivals from Spain, Italy and France to Stavanger up 38 per cent year-on-year. In southern Norway, Kristiansand has seen a 52 per cent jump.
'For many, Scandinavia's cool climate is no longer a disadvantage,' said Thomas Thessen, chief analyst at SAS, in an interview with Norwegian newspaper VG. 'In fact, it's become a key reason to book a trip.'
Poland's Baltic Coast has also experienced a spike in international visitors as temperatures rise in southern Europe. Along its Baltic Coast, branded hotels reported occupancy of 69.2 in 2024, up from 66.9 per cent in 2023.
Others are pivoting away from the summer season entirely. Justin Francis of Responsible Travel told The Telegraph: 'In the past three years, we've seen an 86 per cent increase in enquiries for autumn holidays, a response to the shifting climate and fears of extreme weather.'
Looking at broad booking patterns, however, most British holidaymakers haven't yet been put off from booking summers in the Med. In 2024 (following 2023's hottest ever year on the Continent), the UK ranked as the number one source market for tourism to Spain and in the top three for France, Greece, Turkey and Portugal. Proving, at least for now, that 'too hot for the human body to function properly', has not yet translated into 'too hot for a holiday.'