by For decades, wandering the winding, thyme-scented paths of sun-baked Mediterranean islands has lured the Brits and others from the frigid north of Europe.
But rising temperatures caused by global warming mean that areas of southern Europe are becoming off-limits to walkers in the hottest months of summer, according to experts.
The dangers of extreme temperatures were vividly illustrated this month by the deaths of several passers-by, most of them in Greece.
Age seemed to be a significant factor – most were in their sixties and seventies.
Many adventure travel companies are no longer offering hiking holidays in Spain, Portugal and Greece in July and August due to the risk of high temperatures, especially for the elderly.
Travel companies are having to adapt to rapidly changing climate conditions, offering more trips in the spring and autumn and moving towards cooler northern destinations such as Scotland and Scandinavia.
“We have made some significant changes to our roaming offers in southern Europe. We stopped offering hikes in July and August in Portugal, Spain and Greece.
“It’s happened over the last few years and it’s linked to the rise in temperature. The heat was a danger,” said Hazel McGuire, general manager of Europe at Intrepid Travel.
“Scientific studies consistently show that adults over the age of 65, people with cardiopulmonary and other chronic diseases, and very young children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heat,” reported the Lancet, a British medical journal. noted in a recent report.
Michael Mosley
The most famous case was that of Michael Mosley, the 67-year-old British doctor and health journalist known to millions of television viewers for his documentaries.
He died after hiking alone on the Aegean island of Symi in temperatures that reached 38C (100F) – and it was just one of several deaths.
On Friday, a 70-year-old British man was found dead in the Spanish Pyrenees, four days after he went hiking.
A 74-year-old Dutch hiker was found dead on the island of Samos and earlier this week a 67-year-old German hiker died while walking near the Tripiti Gorge on Crete’s rugged south coast. He contacted his wife to say he was lost and had run out of water.
A 55-year-old American tourist died on the tiny island of Mathraki near Corfu. Another American, Albert Calibet, a 59-year-old retired policeman, went missing while hiking on the Aegean island of Amorgos and has yet to be found.
Mr. Calibet set out on a well-marked path from the north of the island to a small port called Katapola. He knew the island well and was experienced as a walker, which made his disappearance a mystery.
“Maybe he chose to take a tougher route, and maybe he overestimated his ability. The heat was intense,” said Calliope Despotidi, deputy mayor of Amorgos.
Constantina Dimoglidou, a spokeswoman for the Greek police, said hikers getting into trouble is nothing new – it happens every year. “But this year, it seems more people were upset during the heatwave.”
Athens on top of 43C
Greece registered its earliest heatwave on record last week, forcing the closure of the Acropolis and several schools as temperatures soared to 43C (109F) in Athens. It is on track to be the hottest June ever recorded in Greece.
It is no longer advisable to hike in places like Greece in the hottest months, according to experts.
Intrepid Travel, which offers trips to destinations around the world, from Europe to Africa and the Himalayas, recorded 121 more climate-related incidents affecting its clients last year than in 2022, with its -includes extreme heat, floods and wildfires.
“Climate change is having a significant impact on travel. We are seeing a trend towards Scandinavia and colder climates further north in Europe,” said Ms McGuire.
Shoulder season
Intrepid last year saw a 61 percent increase in “shoulder season” bookings – the period between peak and off-peak – in western Europe and a 29 percent increase in southern Europe.
The company has sent more holiday packages during this time to destinations such as Italy, Spain, France and Portugal so that customers can take advantage of cooler weather.
“Customers want to travel more in the spring and autumn and part of that has to do with heat,” Ms McGuire said.
The scorching heat is becoming more of a concern in Europe as temperatures on the continent are rising at around twice the global average rate, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the EU’s climate agency, Copernicus.
In Europe, heat-related deaths have increased by one-third over the past 20 years.
Greece has a heat-related health warning system called Heat-Alarm in place. In its launch last year, scientists said that “the Eastern Mediterranean is facing intense and long-term heat waves. Future climate projections show that such extremes will become the norm for eastern Mediterranean countries during the 21st century.”
Older people more susceptible
Older people store heat in their bodies more than younger people and as a result are more at risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, said Christos Giannaros, one of the scientists leading the project.
Travel patterns in Europe are changing dramatically, said Ginny Lunn, owner of hiking travel company WalkingWomen.
“Our busiest time is now April, before it gets too hot in places like Greece and southern Spain, and then the end of September, October and November. We are now going to southern Spain in December – you still get amazing blue skies.
“During the summer we are going north, to Norway, which is very popular, and to Scotland. These are now our top summer hiking destinations. The heat is coming earlier. You just have to rethink how you plan your holidays.”
Most of WalkingWomen’s clients are over 50 and need to be particularly aware of the dangers of heat.
“We advise clients to carry two liters of water, wear a hat, choose shady routes with water if possible. We use local guides who are very experienced so they can adapt to changing weather conditions,” said Miss Lunn.
School holidays
While empty-netters and retirees can avoid July and August and instead opt for a spring or fall vacation, families with school-age children are tied to the school holidays.
The advice is for them to change their destination – avoid the most difficult parts of southern Europe during the summer and choose cooler places. Last year, research by travel insurance company InsureandGo found that 71 per cent of Britons believe it will be too hot to visit Mediterranean holiday destinations such as Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey , within the next five years.
“We’ve always tried to encourage our clients to go off-season but climate has made that more of an emphasis. Why go to Lisbon in August when you’re going to suffer in the heat?” said Justin Wateridge, managing director of Steppes Travel, a company that organizes luxury holidays around the world, from spotting snow leopards in India to tracking wolves in Apennine mountains of Italy.
‘It’s all about being savvy’
“If a client calls up and says he wants to climb Mt Toubkal [the highest peak in Morocco] in July, we recommend that they go at another time when it is not so hot. Ground suppliers are certainly offering more availability during shoulder seasons such as spring and autumn. It’s about being smart about destinations.”
A report issued by the EU last year on the impact of climate change on tourism concluded: “coastal regions in northern Europe are predicted to register a significant increase in demand during the summer and early autumn months and… south coast regions summer tourist flows heavily.
“Tourism demand is expected to increase in the shoulder seasons of spring and autumn.”
Avoiding the increasingly unbearable heat in southern Europe during the summer is not just a matter of safety. “It’s not much fun to walk when it’s 40C,” said Mr McGuire. “We have to be mindful of what people enjoy.”
