While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heatwave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be more pleased.
British tourists holidaying in southern Europe, including Italy, Greece and Spain, have been warned by the United Nations about the life-threatening dangers of the heat after hundreds of people collapsed and passed out.
NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus warned, “Most people still don’t know the danger they’re in. This is going to be the coolest summer for the rest of your life, and that shouldn’t just be a meme – it should actually be terrifying. The only way out of this heat nightmare is to end fossil fuels as soon as possible.
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However, the warnings have not had the desired effect for the party town on the Costa Blanca, as holidaymakers flock to the beach as temperatures soar above 40 degrees.
British tourists ride mobility scooters along the boulevard in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
As a sweltering heatwave sweeps through Europe and threatens to break the record books for Europe’s ‘hottest week on record’ – it looks like these Benidorm Brits are having the time of their lives!
Three men imagined cooling off with a dip in the pool
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heat wave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be happier
A British tourist seems to be having the time of his life in his snorkelling gear in Benidorm
“Heat waves really are an invisible killer,” Panu Saaristo, team leader of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ emergency health unit, said today. “We experience increasingly hotter temperatures here in Europe every summer for longer periods of time.”
The sweltering heat will rise even higher in the coming days as Charon descends on the continent.
The UN weather office warned temperatures in southern Europe could even break Sicily’s 2021 record of 48.8°C, while desperate scientists urged the public to understand the ‘danger’ the world is in from climate change .
However, the heat seems to be the last thing on the minds of the masses of tourists decked out in bucket hats and buckets of lager.
Sunbathers have packed Benidorm’s beach and popped into the wide array of bars and clubs to escape the heat with ice-cold refreshments.
While the majority of the British public seems to be enjoying the extreme temperatures, there are some who have cut their travel plans short.
A British mum has given up on her Greek holiday and flown back to the UK with her two sons three days early because it was too hot as the relentless Charon heatwave continues to fry the Mediterranean.
Sally Urwin, 49, and her two sons, aged 16 and 13, decided to cut short their holiday to Rhodes after temperatures soared above 40C.
Sally complained that the sweltering heat had turned their hotel on the Greek island into a ‘giant oven’ – saying it is ‘lovely to be back in a rainy, wet and cold UK’.
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heat wave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be happier
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heat wave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be happier
These two didn’t need a second invite to cool off in a pool
Cheers! Young holidaymakers fully enjoy the hot weather
A British tourist smiles as she enjoys a drink at a bar in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
British tourists sunbathe and swim in the pool during sweltering temperatures in Benidorm
British holidaymakers bask in the sun in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
A British couple enjoys a drink in hot temperatures in Benidorm, Spain
A British tourist tries to cool off in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
British tourists cycle along the boulevard in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
Some sane sunbathers hydrated as they walked the boardwalk
The author had landed in Rhodes on Wednesday for what should have been a week-long relaxing holiday, but the ‘suffocating’ heat wave forced them to spend all day in their hotel.
“It made you feel unwell and we lost our appetite – we couldn’t eat much.”
The heat became so unbearable at 43C that Sally booked an early flight home and landed back in a rainy UK on Sunday – three days before they were due to return.
Sally from Matfen, Northumberland, said: ‘It was suffocating. I’ve worked in Texas and around the world, but it was stifling. It made you weak and dizzy.
Another couple, Anita Elshoy and her husband, returned home from their summer vacation to their favorite spot Vasanello, a village in the north of Rome, a week earlier than originally planned when the temperature reached 35C.
“(I) got a lot of pain in the head, legs and (my) fingers swelled up and I got more and more dizzy,” Elshoy said of her heat-related symptoms.
“We were supposed to stay there for two weeks, but couldn’t (stay) because of the heat.
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British tourists carry an inflatable boat along the seafront promenade in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heat wave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be happier
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heat wave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be happier
British tourists enjoy a beer in a restaurant in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as the Charon heat wave bakes the continent, the Brits in Benidorm couldn’t be happier
A couple sits in a shaded bar enjoying the afternoon’s entertainment
Far from Wales! This patriotic Brit basks in the sun on Benidorm beach
The beach of Benidorm was packed under the burning sun