Wildfires induced by extreme heat forced some 20,000 tourists this week to flee the Greek island of Rhodes.
Straggling along the beaches with their carry-ons they were not very different to the same economic and political migrants their own countries have been turning back at their borders.
These “climate refugees” are victims of record breaking temperatures this summer in much of Europe and the world in general. Other strange phenomena are happening. A Bloomberg report quoted a German doctor as recommending, “We should follow the work practices of the southern countries during heat Getting up early, working productively in the morning and taking a siesta at noon.” Germans taking a siesta? What is the world coming to?!
That’s because Europe has experienced multiple heatwaves over the past few years with temperatures in Greece, Spain and Italy in particular reaching 40C.
In the USA there was record-breaking heat in early July for much of the south and south west including Texas, the Mississippi Valley and South Florida. In Death Valley California temperatures came close to hitting the all time high of 56.7C set in July 1913.
Meanwhile China saw its highest temperature in recorded history of 52C in Xinjiang province. The world’s weather is seriously messed up and according to most scientists is likely to stay that way in decades to come. Only Britain, which did suffer record temperatures in 2022 of around 40C – could be relied upon for a traditional summer, reverting to a wet end of July. The main casualty was England being denied regaining the Ashes on a damp Old Trafford Sunday. Even bazball can’t beat the rain.
Human behaviour for all our sophistication is still strongly influenced by the weather. If living in the northern parts, we hibernate like bears (and eating more) in the winter and come spring skip through the park like newborn calves. Canadian snowbirds migrate each year to Florida and other warmer parts, only to return when the snows have melted. The winter vacation is de rigueur for the Northern European middle classes, who flock to the beaches of the Caribbean and other southerly points returning with an enviable tan. These are well established travel patterns for a certain class of our species.
However there are already signs that with what appears to be the present extreme weather in the long term forecast we are already thinking twice about where to vacation.
Orlando’s Disney World and Universal theme parks have seen attendance well down from previous years. A CNN report quoted one observer who thought the cause might be “extreme heat…keeping some locals from visiting, pushing down attendance numbers. In late June, Florida, along with much of the South, was hit with a multi-day heat wave, bringing temperatures to over 100 degrees (38C). This week, the state is contending with yet another brutal, record-breaking heat wave.“
USA Today reported that “a 57-year-old woman died at the Grand Canyon National Park this week after trying to hike eight miles…The temperature in the region the day before reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with temperatures at Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River topping out at 114 degrees(45C).”
As for Europe it’s not much fun if you are a tourist standing in line for a few hours to ascend the Duomo in Florence (over 37C this July) or traipsing around the Acropolis (32C).
There are already statistics that point to more demand for travel to Europe during the shoulder seasons, each side of the summer – April to June and September to October – while seaside venues (which are a bit cooler) are more in demand than city stays. It may also be that much like real birds, Canadian and other Northern Americans linger longer in their primary nests before flying south for the winter. This could impact the Florida economy.
However climate change could present a great opportunity for Caribbean tourism. Traditionally in Barbados for example, the peak season runs from December to mid-April. During those months hotels and restaurants are packed mainly with British and European tourists escaping the winter blues. However, come mid-April the visitor numbers drop off quite sharply. The island becomes at least for the residents pleasantly bucolic. It is important to note however that the drop off in visitors has nothing to do with the island’s weather – although it is a bit rainier during the summer months- but that the Europeans have other places to visit – such as their second homes in Provence (often well over 35C in recent years).
If the scorching temperatures persist in the years to come, we may see Europeans and others opting for a Caribbean vacation during the summer. Barbados’ Sandy Lane Resort has already pitched this in a recent social media post: “Come to Barbados this summer to ‘escape’ the heat elsewhere. It’s a perfect 30 degrees Celsius here thanks to the Atlantic tradewinds that keep our island cool. We’re fortunate that temperatures rarely exceed 32 degrees no matter the time of year making Barbados idyllic year-round.”
So while temperatures have edged up in the region, they have not reached the unbearable extremes seen in Europe and elsewhere in recent years. In a world of global warming, the Caribbean may become the “new temperate”.
