Hiking experts’ tips for staying safe in warm weather as Italy faces hottest weekend of summer

14.08.2024 - 06:41 / euronews.com / Angela Symons

Europe's scorching hot summer is showing no signs of cooling down, with Italy facing its warmest weekend of the year so far and heatwave warnings issued in southern France.

It's causing more than just discomfort: a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that extreme heat is killing more than 175,000 people a year in Europe.

In June, this was laid bare when British TV presenter and health guru Michael Mosley, as well as four other tourists, died while hiking in Greece’s historic early heatwave.

As temperatures soar above 40C from Italy to Spain, prompting extreme weather warnings and sparking wildfires, Euronews Travel asks health and hiking experts how to stay safe while walking in high temperatures.

In June, a 74-year-old Dutch tourist who was found dead on the eastern Greek island of Samos after going for a walk; the following day, a 55-year-old American tourist’s body was found on the Greek island of Mathraki, west of Corfu.

Earlier that month on the island of Crete, a Dutch tourist, aged 67, and a French tourist, 70, both died while walking in the extreme heat.

With Europe’s changing weather patterns, even tour companies themselves are having to adapt.

“We can no longer hike in some countries from June to September as the heat starts earlier - for example Spain is sometimes 40 degrees in June,” says a spokesperson from female-led activity holiday specialist WalkingWomen.

They have adapted their programmes to do more hiking in spring, autumn and winter when temperatures are lower. During the summer months, they go north to Scotland and Norway where it is cooler for hiking.

Similarly, small group adventure travel company Intrepid Travel is adjusting to new weather extremes.

“At Intrepid, we’ve definitely seen an increase in the severity and frequency of extreme weather events in Europe,” says Radek Nowak, an active product manager for Intrepid. Last year, the company recorded 121 more climate-related incidents globally than the year before in its operational reports.

“We’ve had to change and adapt to this new reality by extending departures into shoulder season months… and considering climate change when investing in future travel destinations - like expanding in Scandinavia,” Nowak continues.

The company no longer runs hiking trips in Spain, Türkiye and Portugal during the hottest months of July and August, and has added more trips in April and October to make it easier for people to avoid the extreme temperatures. 

It has also added winter trips and departures to places like Greece, Croatia, Spain and Italy.

If you are unable to change your travel dates or destination, be prepared to adapt your plans each day in line with the weather.

“We’ve had to adjust existing itineraries to ensure