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For many years, the prospect of mountain climbing alongside winding, thyme-scented trails on sun-baked Mediterranean islands has lured Britons and others from Europe’s frigid north.
However rising temperatures caused by global warming imply swathes of southern Europe are effectively becoming off-limits for walkers in the hottest months of the summer, specialists say.
The risks posed by excessive temperatures have been vividly illustrated this month with the deaths of several hikers, most of them in Greece.
Age seemed to be a major issue – most have been of their sixties and seventies.
Many adventure travel companies are not providing mountain climbing holidays in Spain, Portugal and Greece in July and August due to the hazard posed by excessive temperatures, significantly to aged individuals.
Journey companies are having to adapt to quickly altering weather conditions, providing extra journeys within the spring and autumn and pivoting to cooler locations within the north like Scotland and Scandinavia.
“We’ve made some vital adjustments to our mountain climbing choices in southern Europe. We’ve stopped providing hikes in July and August in Portugal, Spain and Greece.
“It has occurred over the past couple of years and it’s linked to the rising temperatures. The warmth offered a hazard,” mentioned Hazel McGuire, normal supervisor for Europe at Intrepid Journey.
“Scientific research constantly present that adults older than 65 years, individuals with cardiopulmonary and different persistent illnesses, and really younger kids are particularly vulnerable to the effects of warmth,” The Lancet, a British medical journal, famous in a latest report.
Michael Mosley
Essentially the most high-profile case was that of Michael Mosley, the 67-year-old British doctor and health journalist who was identified to hundreds of thousands of tv viewers for his documentaries.
He died after going for a walk by himself on the island of Symi within the Aegean in temperatures that reached 38C (100F) – and his was simply one among a number of deaths.
On Friday, a 70-year-old British man was found dead within the Spanish Pyrenees, 4 days after he set off on a hike.
A 74-year-old Dutch hiker was discovered useless on the island of Samos and earlier this week a 67-year-old German walker died whereas mountain climbing close to Tripiti Gorge on the rugged south coast of Crete. He had contacted his spouse to say he was misplaced and had run out of water.
A 55-year-old American vacationer died on the tiny island of Mathraki close to Corfu. Another American, Albert Calibet, a 59-year-old retired policeman, went lacking on a hike on the Aegean island of Amorgos and has but to be discovered.
Mr Calibet had set off on a well-marked path from the north of the island to a small port known as Katapola. He knew the island properly and was an skilled hiker, making his disappearance one thing of a thriller.
“He could have chosen to take a more durable route, and maybe overestimated his capabilities. The warmth has been intense,” mentioned Calliope Despotidi, the deputy mayor of Amorgos.
Constantina Dimoglidou, a spokeswoman for Greek police, mentioned that hikers operating into hassle will not be new – it occurs yearly. “However this yr, it appears extra individuals grew to become disoriented through the heatwave.”
Athens tops 43C
Greece registered its earliest recorded heatwave final week, forcing the closure of the Acropolis and a few faculties because the temperature rose to 43C (109F) in Athens. It’s on monitor to be the warmest June ever recorded in Greece.
Mountain climbing in locations like Greece within the hottest months is solely not advisable, specialists warn.
Intrepid Journey, which provides excursions to locations world wide, from Europe to Africa and the Himalaya, registered 121 extra climate-related incidents affecting its shoppers final yr than in 2022, together with excessive warmth, floods and wildfires.
“Local weather change is having a significant affect on itineraries. We’re seeing a trend towards Scandinavia and cooler climates additional north in Europe,” mentioned Ms McGuire.
Shoulder season
Intrepid noticed a 61 per cent improve final yr in “shoulder season” bookings – the interval between the height and off-peak – in western Europe and a 29 per cent improve to southern Europe.
The corporate has added extra vacation packages throughout this time to locations reminiscent of Italy, Spain, France and Portugal in order that prospects can reap the benefits of cooler climate.
“Clients need to journey extra within the spring and autumn and a few of that’s warmth associated,” mentioned Ms McGuire.
Scorching warmth is changing into extra of a problem in Europe as a result of temperatures on the continent are rising at roughly twice the worldwide common price, according to the World Meteorological Organisation and the EU’s local weather company, Copernicus.
In Europe, deaths linked to sizzling climate have risen by a 3rd over the previous 20 years.
Greece has arrange a heat-related well being warning system known as Warmth-Alarm. Launching it final yr, scientists mentioned that “the japanese Mediterranean is dealing with an elevated prevalence of intense and long-lasting warmth waves. Future local weather projections point out that such extremes would be the norm for japanese Mediterranean international locations in the midst of the twenty first century.”
Older individuals extra vulnerable
Older individuals retailer warmth of their our bodies greater than younger individuals and in consequence are more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, mentioned Christos Giannaros, one of many scientists who leads the undertaking.
Journey patterns in Europe are dramatically shifting, mentioned Ginny Lunn, the proprietor of mountain climbing journey firm WalkingWomen.
“Our busiest time is now April, earlier than it will get too sizzling in locations like Greece and southern Spain, after which the tip of September, October and November. We’re now going to southern Spain in December – you continue to get great blue skies.
“In the summertime we’re going north, to Norway, which has change into very, very talked-about, and Scotland. These are now our biggest destinations for summer time mountain climbing. The warmth is arriving earlier. You simply need to rethink how you intend your vacation.”
Most of WalkingWomen’s shoppers are over 50 and so they must be significantly conscious of the risks posed by the warmth.
“We advise shoppers to hold two litres of water, to put on a hat, to decide on shady routes by water if potential. We use native guides who’re extremely skilled to allow them to adapt to altering climate situations,” mentioned Ms Lunn.
Faculty holidays
Whereas empty nesters and retirees can keep away from July and August and as a substitute decide to go on vacation within the spring or autumn, households with school-age kids are certain to the college holidays.
For them, the recommendation is to alter vacation spot – to keep away from essentially the most torrid components of southern Europe in excessive summer time and go for cooler locations. Final yr, analysis by InsureandGo, a journey insurance coverage firm, discovered that 71 per cent of Britons consider that vacation locations within the Mediterranean, reminiscent of Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, will likely be too sizzling to go to inside the subsequent 5 years.
“We’ve at all times tried to encourage our shoppers to go low season however local weather has put extra emphasis on that. Why go to Lisbon in August when you will suffer in the heat?” mentioned Justin Wateridge, managing director of Steppes Journey, an organization that arranges luxurious holidays world wide, from recognizing snow leopards in India to monitoring wolves in Italy’s Apennine mountains.
‘It’s about being savvy’
“If a consumer telephones up and says they need to climb Mt Toubkal [the highest peak in Morocco] in July, we’d recommend they go at one other time when it’s much less sizzling. Suppliers on the bottom are undoubtedly providing extra availability throughout shoulder seasons like spring and autumn. It’s about being savvy about locations.”
A report launched by the EU final yr about the impact of climate change on tourism concluded that “coastal areas in northern Europe are projected to register substantial improve in demand throughout summer time and early autumn months whereas…southern coastal areas will strongly lose summer time vacationer flows.
“Tourism demand is projected to extend within the spring and autumn shoulder seasons.”
Avoiding the more and more insufferable warmth of southern Europe within the excessive summer time isn’t just a matter of security. “Mountain climbing when it’s 40C will not be a lot enjoyable,” mentioned Ms McGuire. “We’ve to be conscious of individuals’s enjoyment.”
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