Those Summer Vacations in Europe Aren't Going So Well

Wildfires and heat waves are making things really uncomfortable in Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Italy
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 18, 2023 11:18 AM CDT
Welcome, Euro Tourists, Just Don't Go Outside
Tourists refresh by the Lions fountain in Rome, Tuesday, July 18, 2023.   (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Officials warned residents and tourists packing Mediterranean destinations on Tuesday to stay indoors during the hottest hours as the second heat wave in as many weeks hits the region and Greece, Spain, and Switzerland battled wildfires. In Italy, civil protection workers monitored crowds for people in distress from the heat in central Rome, while Red Cross teams in Portugal took to social media to warn people not to leave pets or children in parked cars. In Greece, volunteers handed out drinking water, reports the AP, and in Spain they reminded people to protect themselves from breathing in smoke from fires.

"Heat waves are really an invisible killer," says Panu Saaristo, emergency health team leader for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "We are experiencing hotter and hotter temperatures for longer stretches of time every single summer here in Europe." A relentless summer last year saw Europe sweat through heat waves that resulted in 61,000 heat-related deaths, scientists estimate. The new heat wave in several parts of southern Europe is expected to persist for days. The UN weather agency said that temperatures in Europe, amplified by climate change, could break the 119.8-degree Fahrenheit record set in Sicily two years ago.

  • Rome: As concerns grew the extreme heat would cause a spike in deaths, civil protection volunteers distributed reusable water bottles at 28 popular spots in Rome. Authorities also encouraged visitors and residents to take advantage of the Italian capital's distinctive public drinking fountains, hundreds of which are located in the city's historic center alone.
  • Greece: Authorities last week introduced changes in working hours and ordered afternoon closures of the Acropolis and other ancient sites to allow workers to cope with the heat. A second heat wave is expected to hit Thursday, and temps as high as 111 degrees were expected. Three large wildfires burned outside Athens for a second day.
  • Spain: Most of Spain is under alert for high to extreme heat with forecasts calling for peak temps of 109 degrees in areas along the Ebro River in the northeast and on the island of Mallorca. Spain is also dealing with a prolonged drought, which has heightened the risk of wildfires.
  • Elsewhere: Temperatures above 104 degrees were forecast to persist not only in the Mediterranean, but across North America, Asia, and North Africa.
(More severe weather stories.)

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