Climate change: Vacation in southern Europe becomes a heat battle!

Climate change: Vacation in southern Europe becomes a heat battle!

Kreta, Griechenland - The summer months in southern Europe are increasingly shaped by extreme heat. As early as March 2025, record temperatures of 33.7 degrees Celsius were recorded on Crete, which impressively shows the consequences of climate change. According to Kurier , both vacationers and locals suffered from this harmful warmth in the summer of 2023, especially in Greece in mid-July.

In Italy, cities such as Rome, Florence and Bologna were affected by the alarm level, which led to official warnings of the Ministry of Health. This recommended the population to stay indoors if possible in order to minimize the health risks. Meteorologist Michaela Koschak announces that such extreme temperatures could occur more often in the future, which makes the Mediterranean less attractive as a holiday destination.

health risks and rising death rates

The health consequences of these heat waves are alarming. According to Hans Kluge from the WHO, the effects of global warming in Europe are increasingly noticeable. Between 2000 and 2019, around 489,000 people worldwide succumbed to heat -related causes every year, of which around 176,000 were registered in Europe. Heat -related mortality in Europe has increased by 30 percent in the past 20 years, which underpins the forecasts of science. According to SPIEGEL the consequences of heat and cold die.

The extreme temperatures also have an impact on nature: high temperatures and drought time in the summer months increasingly lead to forest and surface fires. Regions such as Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily in Italy as well as non -beach campsites in Croatia are particularly affected, where the risk of forest fires is high. Natural disasters in Croatia can also lead to roadblocks and power failures.

trips under new conditions

The holiday planning is becoming increasingly complicated due to these risks. In the Balearic Islands and Canaries there are often heavy rainfall that can result in floods. Against this background, the Federal Foreign Office has pronounced travel warnings for areas on the border with Syria and Iraq. There are security levels 2 and 3.

The extremes of the climate even show in Egypt, where temperatures of up to 50.9 degrees Celsius were measured in June 2024. During the Hadsch in Mecca, 1,301 people died due to extreme heat of 49 degrees Celsius. In view of these developments, Meteorologist Koschak recommends considering holiday destinations in Scandinavia such as Sweden, Norway and Finland in the future. These regions could serve as an alternative to the increasingly unpredictable summer destinations in southern Europe.