Extreme Heat: Europe’s Summer Paradises Eroded by Climate Change

This article explores the impact of climate change on traditional summer destinations in Europe, highlighting the physical and emotional toll on locals and tourists alike.

Once idyllic summer retreats, many of Europe’s cherished vacation spots are disappearing due to the escalating effects of climate change. With high temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns, places like Montgat, a coastal town near Barcelona, are losing the soft sands that once drew holidaymakers like moths to a flame. Instead of playing in the sand and soaking in the sun, beachgoers are now scrambling to find enough space to lay down a towel.

Sofia Mella, a 19-year-old local, gestures towards the horizon where the beach used to extend far into the sea. "From here to there, it was all sand," she lamented. This stark reality reflects a broader trend across southern Europe, where sand-hungry storms, rising sea levels, extreme heat, unrelenting floods, and catastrophic wildfires have transformed once-golden destinations into increasingly inhospitable locales.

As locals and vacationers grapple with shifting realities, the interest in classic hotspots is dwindling. Last week, despite soaring temperatures across Europe, experts cautioned that another heatwave was imminent, endangering vulnerable populations and causing tourists to rethink their travel choices. Environmental activists, some battling the dark side of overtourism, are not finding solace in the harsh weather either. “It’s hell,” said Daniel Pardo Rivacoba of Barcelona, a representative for a group aiming to combat the adverse impacts of tourism on the climate.

While his group previously attracted attention for staging cheeky protests against overtourism—dousing tourists with water guns—Rivacoba noted with irony that this summer, "we used the water guns on ourselves," implying that even they are succumbing to the extreme heat. The collective experience of locals and travelers alike not only underscores the profound challenges posed by climate change but also serves as a stark reminder of what is at stake in trying to preserve Europe's precious summer vacation legacy.