Climate shelters as Europe heatwave intensifies
Authorities across southern Europe have urged people to seek shelter and protect the most vulnerable as punishing temperatures from Spain to Portugal, Italy and France climbed higher in the summer's first major heatwave.
Ambulances stood on standby near tourist hotspots and regions issued fire warnings as experts warned that such heatwaves, intensified by climate change, would become more frequent.
Peaks of 43C were expected in areas of southern Spain and Portugal, while nearly all of France is sweltering in heat expected to last for several days.
In Italy, 21 cities were on high alert for extreme heat, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence and Rome.
"We were supposed to be visiting the Colosseum, but my mum nearly fainted," said British tourist Anna Becker, who had travelled to Rome from a "muggy, miserable" Verona.
Hospital emergency departments across Italy have reported an uptick in heatstroke cases, according to Vice President of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine Mario Guarino.
"We've seen around a 10% increase, mainly in cities that not only have very high temperatures but also a higher humidity rate.
"It is mainly elderly people, cancer patients or homeless people, presenting with dehydration, heat stroke, fatigue," he said.
'Climate shelters'
Hospitals like the Ospedale dei Colli in Naples have set up dedicated heatstroke pathways to speed access to vital treatments like cold water immersion, Mr Guarino said.
In Venice, authorities offered free guided tours for people over 75s in air-conditioned museums and public buildings.
Bologna has set up seven "climate shelters" with air conditioning and drinking water, Florence has called on doctors to flag up the lonely and vulnerable, Ancona is delivering dehumidifiers to the needy, and Rome has offered free access to city swimming pools for those over 70.
Scientists say climate change is stoking hotter and more intense heatwaves, particularly in cities where the so-called "urban heat island" effect amplifies temperatures among tightly packed buildings.
"The heat waves in the Mediterranean region have become more frequent and more intense in recent years, with peaks of 37C or even more in cities, where the urban heat island effect raises the temperatures even further," said Emanuela Piervitali, a researcher at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).
"A further increase in temperature and heat extremes is expected in the future, so we will have to get used to temperatures with peaks even higher than those we are experiencing now," she said.
Invasive species
In Portugal, several areas in the southern half of the country, including the capital Lisbon, are under a red warning for heat until tomorrow night due to "persistently extremely high maximum temperature values", according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
Two-thirds of Portugal was on high alert for extreme heat and forest fires, as was the Italian island of Sicily, where firefighters tackled 15 blazes yesterday.
In France, experts warned that the heat was also severely impacting biodiversity.
"With this stifling heat, the temperature can exceed 40C in some nests," said President of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) Allain Bougrain-Dubourg.
"We are taking in birds in difficulty everywhere; our seven care centres are saturated," he said.
It is also attracting invasive species, which are thriving in the more tropical climes.
Italy's ISPRA launched a campaign this week urging fishermen and tourists alike to report sightings of four "potentially dangerous" venomous species.
The lionfish, silver-cheeked toadfish, dusky spinefoot and marbled spinefoot are beginning to appear in waters off southern Italy as the Mediterranean warms, it said.
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Irish Daily Mirror
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The Irish Sun
15 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Dark side of Egypt where tourists are tortured & killed and Brits are banged up & ‘forced to pay bribes by corrupt cops'
WHEN it comes to a perfect holiday destination for Brits, Egypt has it all - five-star resorts, scorching temperatures and stunning beaches. But beyond the boundaries of its luxury all-inclusive havens is a dark underbelly that the country's tourist board would rather holidaymakers didn't see. 18 Ivonne Daniela Latorre died after being beaten in Egypt Credit: Newsflash 18 The Pyramids of Giza attract millions of tourists from around the world every year Credit: Getty 18 Brit Laura Plummer was held for over a year in a hellish Egyptian prison after painkillers were found in her bag Credit: Collect 18 A former British ambassador to Egypt recently branded the country a 'police state' The Pharoah nation sucks in a staggering 18million tourists each year, and the industry props up around 10 percent of the whole economy, and it's clear to see why. Flocking in their droves, tourists arrive to visit ancient tombs and lounge on the two magnificent coastlines of the But beyond the plush resorts of the popular Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada - Egypt harbours dirty secrets. Tourists have disappeared in mysterious circumstances - only to turn up mutilated or dead. It is a police state in Egypt. It is violent and vindictive and it is abusing a British citizen John Casson Former British ambassador to Egypt A brutal police force deals in bribes and locks people up on bogus charges, including Brit holidaymakers. The ancient-world sites are riddled with canny con artists who know how to wangle money out of tourists. And animals are tortured and worked to death - with some discarded in makeshift graveyards around the back of the pyramids. Egypt's picture-postcard image is being tested, with a former British ambassador to the country recently branding it a "police state". John Casson said the authorities are "violent and vindictive" and urged the government to "deploy the full range of tools it has to protect British citizens". "This includes official travel advice that should caution against travel to Egypt," he said. Egypt's huge new mega resort will have 11 districts with hotels, attractions and UK flights "It is a police state in Egypt. It is violent and vindictive and it is abusing a British citizen." Egypt's dangerous underbelly was dragged into the spotlight last month when a Colombian tourist Ivonne Latorre, 24, was found dying in a coma at the side of a road after going missing from the Zamna electronic music festival in Cairo. She has sustained horrific injuries after crossing paths with men posing as producers - and tragically died five days later in hospital. Nobody knows who mutilated Ivonne , but an investigation has been launched into the beauty queen's mysterious death. I used to love going on holiday there, but I'll never step foot in that country again Tony Camoccio Brit held in Egyptian jail Holidaymakers have also accused the country's police officers of corruption, arresting tourists on bogus charges and offering them a way out with bribes. Tony Camoccio, a 56-year-old Londoner, was arrested and locked up in a terrifying jail for simply patting a security guard on the back. The window business owner was told he was going to be charged with sexual assault and locked up for seven years. He told The Sun: "I was locked in a cage outside for two nights with 80 other people. I was just in a T-shirt and shorts and it was one degrees at night. 18 Ivonne, left, died in hospital five days after being found Credit: Newsflash 18 Tony Camoccio was told he would be banged up for seven years on fabricated sexual assault charges Credit: supplied 18 Camels and other animals are routinely mistreated at key tourist sites Credit: PETA Asia 18 A camel tied up at the pyramids foams at the mouth Credit: PETA Asia "Then they told me to sign a document and said I would be released." But the document Tony signed was not a release paper - he says he'd been tricked into signing a confession written in Arabic. Tony said: "It was all about money. My lawyer was told I could get out if we 'made the policeman happy' - clearly meaning a bribe." But the most shocking thing Tony witnessed was inside the brutal Police Station 1 prison. He said: "You couldn't sleep at night because the guards were beating women and children, making them scream. It was horrible. 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"It seemed to me that, as a tourist, the objective was to get as much money from me as possible. The level of tourist exploitation is absolutely next level." The Pyramids of Giza - visited by tens of thousands every day - are a hotspot for the scams, particularly as the industry picks up again post-Covid. The problem is so bad it has driven a surge in social media influencers creating "avoid the scams" videos. Men with whistles are documented posing as officials, trying to get tourists to follow them to a spot only to charge an extortionate price for the "service". Others falsely tell visitors they are walking the wrong way - ultimately hoping to charge for pictures taken with the pyramids, according to Sam Mayfair's viral TikTok report. 18 British-Egyptian Alaa Abd el-Fattah is being held illegally in jail Cairo, according to the UN Credit: Reuters 18 Tora maximum security prison, where Alaa was initially held Credit: AFP 18 Laila Soueif's has been on hunger strike for over 250 days to protest the ongoing detention of her son Credit: Alamy But the ongoing case that pushed John Casson to call for a change to UK travel advice is that of a British-Egyptian man who has been locked up there for years, with the UN ruling that he is being held illegally. Alaa Abd el-Fattah was banged up five years ago - and has not been released despite his sentence expiring in September. His mum, Laila Soueif, in London, is on death's door after almost 300 days of hunger strike - and she has vowed not to eat until her son is free. I saw two girls getting tortured with sticks in my cell Laura Plummer locked up in Egypt for over a year James Lynch, working for Alaa's campaign, told The Sun that David Lammy's progress with the Egyptian authorities "risks being too slow for Laila and Alaa, British citizens whose health and lives are at serious risk as a result of their prolonged hunger strikes". Alaa's unfair detention echoes the story of Laura Plummer, a shop worker from Hull, who was locked up over prescription painkillers found in her luggage. The Brit ultimately spent 14 months in horrific conditions. Laura was She was freed in 2019 Laura was moved from Cairo to Hurghada Prison, where she said she "witnessed the most horrendous things", including "two girls getting tortured with sticks". 18 Scars and raw wounds can be seen all along this camel's neck from rope burns Credit: peta asia 18 A horse is whipped after stumbling over in the road Credit: PETA Asia She said: 'What should have been a two-week holiday in the sun turned into a 15-month trip to hell." Left to die Animal abuse is also a problem in the country, an issue brought to light by a harrowing PETA Asia investigation. The animal rights group uncovered the routine abuse of the creatures forced to work at the pyramids and other attractions. Donkeys, horses and camels in particular are worked to death ferrying tourists around in the scorching heat, and often treated cruelly by their handlers. A recent report said that "handlers viciously beat animals who are simply too exhausted to go on". It said: "Screaming camels are viciously beaten with sticks by men and children at the Birqash Camel Market before being sold to the tourism industry. "Sick, injured, or starving horses and camels are often abandoned by carriage operators who treat them like disposable tools." Tour companies have started moving away from offering camel rides after widespread outrage at the findings of successive investigations, but the local operators are pushing back. As if all that isn't enough for tourists to deal with, a surge of fatal shark attacks have terrorised the coast in recent years. A 48-year-old Italian man was There have been at least two more confirmed deaths from shark attacks in the past ten years - and a host of injuries. It's Red Sea coast makes it far more dangerous to swim around than any of the other countries on the Med, as Most visits to Egypt will pass without hitch but, after four years of diplomatic experience in the country, John Casson said the nation must do more to protect Brits, who bring in millions each year. He said: "Egypt cannot have it both ways. It pretends to be a friend and depends on flows of British tourists to keep its economy afloat. "It needs to discover that that kind of partnership is not compatible with abusing our citizens and blocking our embassy from carrying out the most fundamental consular actions on their behalf." 18 Horses eating from a rubbish heap Credit: peta asia 18 PETA Asia found there was a graveyard for dead and dying animals near the pyramids Credit: PETA Asia 18 A camel is tugged by the jaw at a livestock market in Egpyt Credit: PETA Asia
RTÉ News
18 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Climate shelters as Europe heatwave intensifies
Authorities across southern Europe have urged people to seek shelter and protect the most vulnerable as punishing temperatures from Spain to Portugal, Italy and France climbed higher in the summer's first major heatwave. Ambulances stood on standby near tourist hotspots and regions issued fire warnings as experts warned that such heatwaves, intensified by climate change, would become more frequent. Peaks of 43C were expected in areas of southern Spain and Portugal, while nearly all of France is sweltering in heat expected to last for several days. In Italy, 21 cities were on high alert for extreme heat, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence and Rome. "We were supposed to be visiting the Colosseum, but my mum nearly fainted," said British tourist Anna Becker, who had travelled to Rome from a "muggy, miserable" Verona. Hospital emergency departments across Italy have reported an uptick in heatstroke cases, according to Vice President of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine Mario Guarino. "We've seen around a 10% increase, mainly in cities that not only have very high temperatures but also a higher humidity rate. "It is mainly elderly people, cancer patients or homeless people, presenting with dehydration, heat stroke, fatigue," he said. 'Climate shelters' Hospitals like the Ospedale dei Colli in Naples have set up dedicated heatstroke pathways to speed access to vital treatments like cold water immersion, Mr Guarino said. In Venice, authorities offered free guided tours for people over 75s in air-conditioned museums and public buildings. Bologna has set up seven "climate shelters" with air conditioning and drinking water, Florence has called on doctors to flag up the lonely and vulnerable, Ancona is delivering dehumidifiers to the needy, and Rome has offered free access to city swimming pools for those over 70. Scientists say climate change is stoking hotter and more intense heatwaves, particularly in cities where the so-called "urban heat island" effect amplifies temperatures among tightly packed buildings. "The heat waves in the Mediterranean region have become more frequent and more intense in recent years, with peaks of 37C or even more in cities, where the urban heat island effect raises the temperatures even further," said Emanuela Piervitali, a researcher at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA). "A further increase in temperature and heat extremes is expected in the future, so we will have to get used to temperatures with peaks even higher than those we are experiencing now," she said. Invasive species In Portugal, several areas in the southern half of the country, including the capital Lisbon, are under a red warning for heat until tomorrow night due to "persistently extremely high maximum temperature values", according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). Two-thirds of Portugal was on high alert for extreme heat and forest fires, as was the Italian island of Sicily, where firefighters tackled 15 blazes yesterday. In France, experts warned that the heat was also severely impacting biodiversity. "With this stifling heat, the temperature can exceed 40C in some nests," said President of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) Allain Bougrain-Dubourg. "We are taking in birds in difficulty everywhere; our seven care centres are saturated," he said. It is also attracting invasive species, which are thriving in the more tropical climes. Italy's ISPRA launched a campaign this week urging fishermen and tourists alike to report sightings of four "potentially dangerous" venomous species. The lionfish, silver-cheeked toadfish, dusky spinefoot and marbled spinefoot are beginning to appear in waters off southern Italy as the Mediterranean warms, it said.
