CLIMATE CRISIS tips

As the days get ever longer and the mercury creeps up, many of us are thinking about summer travels.

Tourists and visitors to Greece have been warned not to "take unnecessary risks" in the wake of the deaths of Europeans during the recent heatwave.

The Acropolis and other archaeological sites have been closing to visitors amidst a heatwave that has seen temperatures soar to 43 degrees celsius.

Hawaii has long been a ‘bucket list’ destination for travellers the world over - but it’s also well known for having suffered from overtourism in recent years.

Hikers have been permanently banned from a popular Patagonian glacier that has become unstable due to ice melt.

France could well be the perfect place to track the progress of the main battle over the future of travel: trains versus planes. In May 2021, France positioned itself as the frontrunner in a carbon-cutting train renaissance when its government enacted a ban on domestic flights where the journey could be done by train in less than two and a half hours. “We are the first to do it,” Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter, and it was hailed by minister Clément Beaune as a “powerful message” and a “strong symbol”. The European Commission designated 2021 as the “Year of European Rail” and billions of euros have since poured into railway infrastructure across central and eastern Europe.

As The Philippines faces a deforestation crisis so severe it could be deforested by 2025, VisitorsCoverage, a global travel insurance marketplace, is compelled to aid reforestation efforts. The new initiative is an extension of their partnership with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization that partners with businesses to plant trees all over the world. Climate change is caused in major part by an overabundance of Carbon Dioxide. Trees are the single best way to reduce CO2 because they breathe it in and convert it to oxygen. Without trees, the Philippines will see a rise in deadly heat waves, floods and mudslides. The disappearance of trees has also been linked to soil erosion and contaminated water. 

Tourists at a seaside hotel on the Greek island of Rhodes snatched up pails of pool water and damp towels as flames approached, rushing to help staff and locals extinguish one of the wildfires threatening Mediterranean locales during recent heatwaves.

Torbjørn Pedersen has always dreamed of being a famous adventurer. He spent his childhood building dens in the woods, pretending to be his hero, Indiana Jones. Even as an adult, he couldn’t shake the sense that he was destined for greatness.

Seven of us are roped in a line, with hiking poles in our hands and crampons on our boots. Led by our guide, David, we take it in turns to step from rock into the marbled grey ice beyond. I hesitate before taking my step; the act feels oddly disrespectful. It takes a few minutes to trust that the spikes will hold their grip, but I get used to the crunching rhythm and the occasional tug of the rope. The summer sunshine is warm but a coldness radiates from below. It is a six-hour hike to the hut we will sleep in tonight.