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Greece is calculating the toll of an early heatwave that claimed the lives of several tourists in a harbinger of the extreme weather it will face this summer.
An urgent warning has been issued for all travellers to the country as record temperatures have left four people dead and many more still missing.
Greece, a popular holiday destination for many in Europe, is experiencing its earliest heatwave on record – a heatwave is when temperatures exceed 38°C for three or more days.
Scorching heat forced tourist sites in and around Athens to close on Wednesday and Thursday. The Acropolis closed to tourists after reports of people fainting while waiting in line. Greek authorities issued a Level 3 heatstroke alert, sending automated alerts to mobile phones and urging people to work from home and avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
Panos Giannopoulos, a weather forecaster for Greek state television, said the country had recorded its earliest ever heatwave. “In the 20th century, we had never had a heatwave before June 19. In the 21st century, we have had a few, but never before June 15,” he said.
Chania, a city on Crete’s northwest coast, recorded its hottest day on Thursday, reaching a maximum temperature of 44.5 degrees Celsius, and the area was also hit by a magnitude 3.7 earthquake on Friday morning.
The combination of hot weather and an earlier-than-usual season has already killed several tourists before the high season has even begun.
The heatwave began in the same week that TV doctor Michael Mosley was found dead on the island of Symi in the Dodecanese islands, near Rhodes, after collapsing while out for a walk.
The “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” presenter, 67, was found dead on Sunday, four days after going missing. His wife said he had been planning to walk the short distance to the next town but had taken a wrong turn.
The path took him over and along steep, rocky slopes, providing no protection from the heat, which reached 37 degrees Celsius. The time of death is estimated to have been around 4pm local time on Wednesday. He had left friends on the island’s Agios Nikolaos beach at around 1.30pm to go for a walk.
TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley’s search and rescue mission on Symi Island, PA
In Greece, a 67-year-old Dutch tourist was found dead on the island of Crete on June 5. He collapsed while crossing the Myron Gorge in Rethymno. The fire department confirmed the death on social media, and local media reported that the man had suffered cardiac arrest due to the heat.
The same day, local media reported that a 70-year-old French tourist had collapsed and died while walking on the beach in Sitia, Crete.
A fourth tourist death was reported on Thursday, June 13, again in Crete, when an 80-year-old man was found dead after leaving his hotel alone near an archaeological site near the northeastern town of Malia.
Greek search teams are still searching for three other tourists who went missing in separate incidents.
Eric Carivet, a former U.S. police officer, went missing on Tuesday afternoon while hiking alone on the southeastern island of Amorgos. Carivet, 59, had been visiting the island almost annually for about 10 years and knew the area well.
He set out at about 7am on the four-hour hike from Aghiari to Katapola.
“It’s almost our third day here,” her brother, Oliver Carivet, told Fox 11 television in Los Angeles. “We have no water… We’re just so confused.”
Eric Carivet, 59, was on holiday on the island when he was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon (Amorgos).
Another American tourist is also missing on the small island of Matraki, off the coast of Corfu. Local media say the 55-year-old has been missing since Tuesday, June 11.
A 74-year-old Dutch tourist went missing on the island of Samos while hiking on Sunday. Rescue services on the eastern Aegean tourist island said he went missing near Marathokampos.
The search for all three is still ongoing.
Dimitris Katazis, head of the Samos rescue service, said tourists are not aware of the risks they face by walking in the heat and often “go off the path” to see tourist sites and then get lost. “We saw several tourists. [of foreigners] “It seems ridiculous to walk on a trail in 41 degree temperatures without a hat,” he told local media.
BBC Breakfast’s resident GP, Dr Mohit Mandiratta, warned that even healthy people can suffer complications in the heat. He told The Independent: “Heat can affect anyone, even healthy people, and if not treated immediately it can become very serious.”
“Symptoms can appear suddenly within minutes or gradually over hours, so it’s important that we all keep an eye out for symptoms.”
Heat stroke is a life-threatening condition that occurs when your body temperature rises above 40°C and requires immediate treatment.
Common symptoms of heat stroke
Things to note
Common symptoms of heat stroke include:
Headache
Dizziness and confusion
Loss of appetite and feeling unwell
Excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin
Cramps in the arms, legs, or abdomen
Rapid breathing and pulse
High fever of 38°C or higher
Extreme thirst
Dr Mohit Mandiratta, a local GP in the Black Country, added: “To prevent heatstroke, drink plenty of cool drinks, take cool baths or showers and wear light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing. Try to avoid being in the sun between 11am and 3pm.”
“Move the person with heatstroke to a cooler place and have them lie down with their legs slightly elevated. Make sure they drink plenty of fluids, apply cool water to the skin and fan them. Within 30 minutes their temperature should drop and they should feel better.”
“If symptoms of heat exhaustion don’t improve after 30 minutes, it may be heat stroke. If the person is still unwell after drinking plenty of water, call emergency services.”
Radek Nowak, active product manager at Intrepid Travel, a travel agency specialising in walking trips, said he had had to adapt his trip to suit the heat: “With summer temperatures soaring in Europe, it’s certainly becoming more challenging to have a more active holiday.”
Intrepid no longer operates hiking tours in Spain and Portugal during the hottest months of July and August, instead adding winter tours in countries such as Greece and Croatia.
Radek adds: “When taking group walks or hikes in warm weather, plan your itinerary around the weather and leave early in the morning before the heat reaches its peak.”
On the Frontlines of Climate Change
Greece has been on the front line of the fight against climate change, suffering extreme heat and floods in just a few weeks last year, including a 16-day heatwave in July 2023, the longest on record. High temperatures sparked wildfires across the country, forcing locals and tourists to evacuate.
Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said the risk of wildfires was particularly high last week due to high temperatures and strong winds. “The early start of the heatwave, combined with a dry winter, has resulted in a very severe fire season,” he said.
Flames race through the forest during last year’s wildfires in Greece (AP)
Fire departments reported a total of 44 agricultural fires on Thursday alone, none of which are considered serious at this time.
In addition to record temperatures, Greece is expected to see record tourism numbers this year. In a forecast released just days before the heatwave, the National Bank of Greece said tourism numbers would rise 24 percent in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year. Analysts said a 20 percent increase in international tourism in the spring suggested the country would have a longer season than expected.
Greece’s ombudsman published a separate report on Thursday warning that the country needs urgent reforms if it wants continued growth in tourism. The report warned of growing environmental risks and called for urgent reforms.
The ministry noted that if the mountainous mainland and coastal islands want to maintain a healthy tourism industry, they need to reduce overexploitation and protect water resources and coastal areas.
“The country’s economy is highly dependent on tourism, making it even more necessary to manage tourism in a sustainable manner,” the report said.
Tourists watch the sunset from Oia Castle on the Greek island of Santorini in 2022 (Reuters)
Like other European resort destinations, Greece is plagued by overtourism: Santorini, a tiny Aegean island with a population of 15,550, receives more than 5.5 million tourists each year, double the number in 2012, according to the Ombudsman’s report. “Tourists in Santorini themselves have complained about the high numbers,” the report adds.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday that the government is also considering capping the number of cruise ships visiting the islands, the most popular tourist destinations.
infrastructure
The country’s infrastructure is struggling to keep up with rising temperatures.
Not only did the heat force tourist sites to close this week, it also forced schools across the country to close just days before the start of a three-month holiday.
Greek schoolchildren have three months of summer vacation: due to rising temperatures, the holidays begin in mid-June, with the next batch resuming in mid-September.
Emergency workers help tourists from the ancient Acropolis site in central Athens this week (AP)
While schools were closed for classes, other students had to sit Panhellenic exams, the equivalent of A-levels, in sweltering heat, many in unair-conditioned rooms, and parents in Athens and Thessaloniki were asked to bring electric fans when they sent their children off for the exams.
Workers in Athens were told to avoid any activity between noon and 5 p.m., and older people and those with chronic illnesses were told to stay indoors.
At Athens airport, passengers on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha were forced to wait for hours on board due to technical issues, with passengers reportedly fainting because the air conditioning did not work.
A massive fire broke out at a cookware factory in the Athens suburb of Kifissia on Wednesday, with nearby residents being warned of toxic smoke and urged to keep their windows closed.
What next?
Temperatures across the country will start to drop from Friday, with forecasters predicting temperatures will return to the average for this time of year of 31 to 33 degrees.
The Foreign Office said travellers heading to Greece “should take caution if they are in or near areas affected by the wildfires”.
They added that tourists should:
Follow the instructions of the emergency services. If you are in immediate danger, call the Greek emergency services on 112. Contact your airline or travel agent who can assist you with your return journey to the UK.
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