Greece has been in the grip of extreme heat for more than a week. Weather that can have tragic consequences for poorly informed tourists.
Tourists who died or went missing in Greece following an early heatwave are the most dramatic evidence yet of how climate change and rising temperatures threaten human life. Greek authorities are mobilizing and warning the residents and visitors against the dangers of climate change.
Heat exhaustion, heat stroke and cerebral “paralysis”
With high temperatures, activities such as hiking, cycling or visiting archaeological sites can pose a real danger, especially for older people, as they causeexhaustion and heat stroke .
Some scientists believe the tragic deaths of walkers in Greece are a harbinger of the effects of extreme heat on the brain also. High temperatures can cause confusion and inhibit decision-making, or even risk perception.
As our knowledge on the subject is still insufficient, many people tend to underestimate the risk. Some believe that by taking simple measures they are protected, while others want to visit as many places as possible during their stay, even if temperatures rise dangerously.
However, a number of tourists have begun to adapt their itineraries to the new realities of climate change.
The early heatwave not only surprised visitors to Greece, but also local authorities, who are now calling on people using the country’s trails, particularly on the islands, to exercise extreme caution and be aware of the temperature forecast before going hiking.
At the same time, in collaboration with Greek telecommunications companies, the installation of a special application on mobile phones is planned to allow geolocation of people using the trails.
Climate change brings new diseases
Public health is not only challenged by high temperatures.
Climate change is causing the emergence and spread of new diseases, participants in the conference told Euronews. first SFEE summit organized by theHellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Industries.
*”It is very important not to limit ourselves to the effects of rising temperatures, because of which people are sicker and go to the hospital more often”***,** said Casper Paardekooper, partner at health consultancy Vintura. “It is also important that public health becomes aware of the emergence of new diseases. For example, we have seen in the United States that avian flu, which was normally transmitted from bird to bird, is now being transmitted to mammals and humans. This has never happened before and is attributed to the climate crisis. The climate crisis is indirectly leading to new diseases for which we must start preparing. This is what our businesses and governments need to start paying attention to.”
“Major temperature changes negatively impact public health in two main ways”notes Aurelio Arias, director of the clinical research services company IQVIA Clinical Life Sciences Research Services. “Directly, through deaths from heatstroke or forest fires, which tragically occurred in Greece. And indirectly, because the disease vectors are moving from one area to another. They thus transmit diseases to specific areas that did not exist before. These diseases persist longer when the temperature rises earlier and falls more slowly.”
Europe: thousands of deaths due to heatwave
According to a recent United Nations report, in Europe , “heat-related mortality increased by around 30%over the past 20 years and heat-related deaths are estimated to have increased in 94% of European regions monitored.
A precise estimate of heat-related deaths is not yet available for 2023, but the World Health Organization estimates that heat waves in 2003, 2010, and 2022 killed 55,000 to 72,000 people.
