While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased.
British tourists holidaying in southern Europe including Italy, Greece and Spain have been warned by the United Nations of the life-threatening dangers of the heat after hundreds of people have collapsed and fainted.
NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus warned: ‘Most people still don’t know what peril they are in. This will be the coolest summer for the rest of your life, and that shouldn’t be just a meme – it should be actually terrifying. The only path out of this heat nightmare is to end fossil fuels as soon as possible’.
The warnings haven’t had the desired effect however for the party city based on the Costa Blanca, as holidaymakers flock to the beach as temperatures soar to over 40 degrees.
British tourists ride mobility scooters along the promenade in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
As a sweltering heatwave sweeps across Europe threatening to break the record books for Europe’s ‘hottest ever week’ – it appears these Benidorm Brits are having the time of their lives!
Three men pictured cooling off with a dip in the pool
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased
A British tourist appears to be having the time of his life in his snorkeling gear in Benidorm
‘Heatwaves are really an invisible killer,’ Panu Saaristo, emergency health unit team leader for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said today. ‘We are experiencing hotter and hotter temperatures for longer stretches of time every single summer here in Europe.’
The sweltering heat is set to soar even higher in the coming days as Charon beats down on the continent.
The UN weather agency warned temperatures in southern Europe could even break the 48.8C record set in Sicily in 2021 as desperate scientists urged the public to understand the ‘peril’ the world is in due to climate change.
However, the heat appears to be the last thing on the mind of the swathes of tourists decked out with bucket hats and buckets of lager.
Sunbathers have packed out Benidorm’s beach, diving into the wide array of bars and clubs for respite from the heat with ice cold refreshments.
While the majority of the British public seems to be revelling in the extreme temperatures, there are some who have cut their travel plans short.
A British mother abandoned her Greek holiday and flew back to the UK three days early with her two sons because it was too hot as the unrelenting heatwave Charon continues to bake the Mediterranean.
Sally Urwin, 49, and her two sons, aged 16 and 13, decided to cut short their holiday to Rhodes after temperatures soared to above 40C.
Sally complained that their hotel on the Greek island turned into a ‘giant oven’ due to the sweltering heat – and said it’s ‘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 heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased
These two didn’t need a second invitation to cool off in a swimming pool
Cheers! Young holidaymakers enjoying every bit of 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 sunbathe in the sun in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
A British couple enjoy drinks amid soaring temperatures in Benidorm, Spain
A British tourist tries to cool himself down in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
British tourists cycle along the promenade in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
Some sensible sun-seekers hydrated themselves as they walked along the promenade
The author had landed in Rhodes on Wednesday for what was supposed to be a relaxing week-long holiday but the ‘suffocating’ heatwave forced them to spend all day in their hotel.
‘It could make you feel unwell and we lost our appetites – 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 supposed to return.
Sally, from Matfen, Northumberland, said: ‘It was suffocating. I’ve worked in Texas and all over the globe, but it was suffocating. It made you feel faint and dizzy.
Another couple, Anita Elshoy and her husband, returned home from their summer trip to their favourite spot of Vasanello, a village in the North of Rome, a week earlier than initially planned as temperatures reached 35C.
‘(I) got a lot of pain in the head, legs and (my) fingers swelled up and I became more and more dizzy,’ Elshoy said of her heat-related symptoms.
‘We were supposed to be there for two weeks, but we couldn’t (stay) because of the heat.’
British tourists carry an inflatable along the promenade in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased
British tourists enjoy beers at a restaurant in Benidorm, Spain, on Tuesday
While tourists across southern Europe have been told to stay indoors and avoid the beach as heatwave Charon bakes the continent, Brits in Benidorm could not be more pleased
A couple sit in a shady bar enjoying the afternoon’s entertainment
A long way from Wales! This patriotic Brit basks in the sunshine on Benidorm beach
Benidorm beach was packed out underneath the beating sun
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