Europe heatwave: British holidaymakers are changing their plans as temperatures surge

Published

2 years ago

July 17, 2023

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British holidaymakers have started to cancel or change their travel plans across Europe due to the heatwave gripping parts of the continent.

Intense heat has taken hold across many popular tourist destinations across the Mediterranean – including in Spain, Italy and Greece.

The extreme weather bringing temperatures of above 40C (104F) has put further strain on local medical and health services during the busy tourist period, with forecasters predicting even higher temperatures this week.

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Forecaster Simon Partridge said people heading to European hotspots should be prepared for the conditions.

“It’s a massive shock to the system when you’re there, so give yourself a chance to get used to the heat,” he said.

Italian media said temperatures could reach 48C (118.4F) in Sardinia as sweltering conditions continues across southern Europe.

The Association of British Travel Agents said flights and holiday packages are continuing as normal – but Britons are being advised to stay hydrated, apply sun lotion and avoid the sun in the middle of the day.

The Foreign Office has recommended people check for the latest travel advice on its website.

Justine Rush, 53, who is in Corfu, told The Observer: “It’s properly hot – too hot to go outside in the day, except when you’re in the sea.

“We’ve had to stay in our room most of the day.”

Paola Deitan, a 29-year-old from Wiltshire, was planning to travel with her best friend to Greece but has now opted for Barcelona, the newspaper reported.

She said: “I am worried about my health. I don’t want anything to happen to me while on holiday.”

Fifteen cities in Italy – most of them in the country’s centre and south – were under heat advisories due to a high level of risk for older adults, children and other vulnerable people.

Last week, a 44-year-old man, who was painting a zebra crossing in 40C (104F) heat in the northern town of Lodi, lost consciousness and later died in hospital, local media reported.

More than 2,000 people have been evacuated as a wildfire raged on La Palma in the Canary Islands, while authorities in Greece opened air-conditioned areas in public buildings.

Britons have been told they can change their holiday plans but normal conditions apply, including cancellation fees.

In the US, Death Valley along part of inland California’s border with Nevada is approaching its highest-ever temperature.

The valley, which is acknowledged as the hottest place on Earth, could see temperatures above 53C (127.4F) this week.

About a third of Americans are under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning as the World Meteorological Organisation warned that with global warming and climate change, such temperatures are “becoming more and more likely”.

World

Thousands defy ban to join Pride march in Budapest

Published

2 hours ago

June 28, 2025

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Thousands defy ban to join Pride march in Budapest

If Hungary’s authorities thought banning this year’s Pride march would keep people off the streets, they were wrong.

Thousands turned out in Budapest, defying a law which said LGBTQ+ events like this should be cancelled to protect children.

The crowd was determined to fight for their rights.

“This is a special march, not just because it was the 30th, but also because it was banned,” said Orsi, who proudly wore a rainbow headband and waved a rainbow flag.

“I mean that’s all the more reason to go out on the street and show that Budapest and Hungary is a place where everybody is welcome, where love is equal,” she added.

Attendees had been warned that just being there could mean a 500 euro fine or prison time for the organisers.

They were told police would use facial recognition cameras to identify them, but they didn’t care.

Orsi said it was worth a fine.

Leonas had travelled from Poland to show his support and was also happy to take the risk.

“LGBT rights are attacked across the whole world, and we need to defend each other and work with each other,” he said.

Viktor Orban’s government has repeatedly pitched family values against LGBTQ+ rights.

“The mother is a woman, the father is a man and leave our kids alone,” he told conservative audiences in the past.

He says he is protecting Hungary’s Christian values, but critics say this is just part of a wider attack on democracy which has happened during his 15 years in control.

The Pride ban is just the latest targeting of LGBTQ+ communities.

In 2020, the country abolished its legal recognition of transgender people, and in 2021, politicians passed a law banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s.

While many were outraged by the attempt to cancel the Pride march, a small number of far-right activists organised demonstrations to show their support:

“Hungary and the Hungarian nation don’t want the aggressive LGBTQ+ propaganda. They are dangerous for our families, they are dangerous for our kids,” said Gabor Kelemen, a member of the 64 Counties Youth Movement.

However, the packed streets showed many disagree.

At one point, as far as the eye could see, the march snaked through streets and across the city’s bridges. The sound of drums and whistles mixing with gay anthems blaring out of speakers.

The organisers said they believed this will be the largest Pride march ever in Budapest.

The crowd was eclectic, with Hungarians from different communities joining a demonstration which many believe is now part of a fight for Hungary’s future.

“This is not only about the complexity of Pride, not only about love or equality… for Hungarians, it’s about sticking together, supporting each other, showing the government that we believe in a different kind of Hungary. We believe in freedom, we believe in democracy,” said activist Adam Kanicsar.

Despite the ban, today Pride attendees were celebrating a victory. But make no mistake, many in Hungary do not support the parade or what they see as an attack on traditional values.

Next year, the country will hold a general election, a vote which will expose how divided Hungary really is.

World

Chants of ‘death to America’ at funeral for Iranian military commanders and scientists

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2 hours ago

June 28, 2025

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Chants of 'death to America' at funeral for Iranian military commanders and scientists

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Tehran to mourn top military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

State-run Press TV said the event – dubbed the “funeral procession of the Martyrs of Power” – was held for 60 people, including four women and four children.

It said at least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among the dead, including head of the Revolutionary Guard General Hossein Salami and the head of the guard’s ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven to Azadi Square on trucks adorned with their pictures as well as rose petals and flowers, as crowds waved Iranian flags.

Chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” could be heard.

Attending the funeral were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures, including Ali Shamkhani who was seriously wounded during the fighting and is an adviser to Iran‘s supreme leader.

There was no immediate sign of the supreme leader in the state broadcast of the funeral.

Iran’s president later thanked people for turning out.

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you dear people,” Mr Pezeshkian wrote on social media.

“With love, you bid farewell to the martyrs of our homeland, and our voice of unity reached the ears of the world.”

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called the deaths “hard and painful”.

Seemingly referencing the recent airstrikes, he added: “Institutions and structures, however important and valuable, return with new glory and greater strength over time, even if it takes years.”

Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said its attacks on Iran aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.

The US joined in by launching strikes on three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran, which Donald Trump said left them “obliterated”, however the exact extent of the damage remains unclear.

Iran denies having a nuclear weapons programme and the UN nuclear watchdog, which carries out inspections in Iran, has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons project.

Over almost two weeks of fighting, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, before a ceasefire began on Tuesday.