THE scorching heatwave sweeping across Europe has claimed lives, closed schools, forced people to “hide” out at home, and evacuate as “unbearable” 42C temperatures make it “difficult to breathe”.
And Irish tourists jetting off to sunshine hotspots over the coming weeks have been urged to cancel their holidays as the deadly Cerberus heatwave grips.
Aemet has confirmed June temperatures “smashed records” in Spain as averages reached 23.6C, making it the hottest June since 2017.
Leah Daly, from Limerick, has been living and working in Barcelona in the Catalan region of Spain for three years.
And the 27-year-old admitted she’s planning to jet home to escape the dangerous heat that has left the streets of the once bustling city empty.
Barcelona is under a Moderate High Temperature Warning, with temperatures soaring to the mid 30s before 11am and remaining in the high 20s overnight.
Wildfires in Lleida in Spain have claimed the lives of two people as blistering heat continues to bake the holiday hotspot.
The area is under an orange weather alert, one of 118 heat warnings issued across Spain yesterday.
In the Costa Dorada town of Vallam a toddler died from heat exhaustion and dehydration after being “forgotten” in a car as temperatures surpassed 35C yesterday.
Night-time temperatures recorded overnight into Tuesday hit 28C in Seville and 27C in Barcelona.
Leah told The Irish Sun the heat is “unbearable” and “miserable” leaving day-to-day life and sleeping in Barcelona difficult.
She said: “I’m waking up and the sun is coming up into my room and even when you’ve the blinds closed you’re waking up in just sweltering heat.
“I’m waking up three and four times a night and it’s nasty, like it’s disgusting.”
“Even going out onto the balcony to hang out clothes, your feet are burnt off. It’s so, so hot.
“At night time, it’s still 27C, 28C, which if you put it into perspective, in Ireland on a nice sunny day that we would enjoy, it could be like 19 degrees.
“You’d be like, ‘oh it’s lovely, isn’t it?’ And you think 30 degrees is okay, but it’s actually really not.
“It’s miserable. It’s gone past the point of actually enjoying the heat and enjoying it safely, because everyone’s just inside hiding.”
Leah explained how the streets of Barcelona look empty as people stick to shaded areas of the footpath and avoid beaches and the city centre.
‘HARD TO BREATHE’
She explained: “It’s hard to breathe here. I was walking down the street the other day and everyone was on the second half of the path in the shade.
“When you have to get off the footpath, you have to walk in the sun and it’s a nightmare. It’s awful.”
Describing the city as “empty”, Leah said that those who do dare to walk outside stick to the shade – but most of the locals are sticking indoors.
She said: “When you get closer into the city centre, there’s no locals. There’s no sign of locals.
“Everything is raising the prices because they know people need it, especially tourists. So the price of everything is going up in this heat as well.”
Leah Daly
“They’re all obviously at home or hiding around the country or away from the city.
“Obviously being in the city with the traffic and the buildings and everything, it’s making it hotter.”
And as the UV index reaches 11, Leah explained how the beaches have become deserted when tourists realise just how hot it is outside.
She told us: “People are going and they’re sitting there for probably 20 minutes and going, yeah, this actually isn’t fun and they’re leaving.
“We’ve gone a couple of times over the last weekends and at the start of the day it’s been havoc then after about 20 minutes when you’re looking around, everyone’s gone.
‘IT’S JUST SO HOT’
“I love lying out, absolutely adore it but you just can’t, it’s just so hot.
“And even when you do, you’re up every two seconds to go to the shop to go get water or you need to bring frozen water with you.”
But Leah, who’s been working remotely for company Fatjoe, warned even the AC in the apartments is simply not strong enough.
The young woman has found herself opting to work from cafes and coffee shops where there is industrial strength air conditioning.
She said: “Anyone coming, I would definitely make sure where you’re staying has AC and it’s working.”
‘CHANGE YOUR HOL DATES’
But she added: “I feel like it could be a bit of an issue for some places.”
Leah warned Irish tourists planning to travel in the coming weeks to cancel their trips if possible, revealing they won’t get to enjoy the best of the city given the extreme heat.
She told us: “If you have the luxury of being able to change your dates, change it.
“It’s such a beautiful city. You will enjoy it so much more when you can actually get out and enjoy it.
“Part of the beauty of Barcelona is like the big hustle and bustle of the streets and like the locals and like all the culture.
“But if you come now, you’ll probably be spending most of your trip in your Airbnb, which is fine everyone loves a little bit of TikTok time, but it’s even at night time, you’re going to find it hard to sleep.
“We have no sign of it cooling down anytime soon. And I do fear August will be worse.”
‘I’M GOING TO BOOK A TRIP HOME’
Leah added: “If they could, if they’re is any leeway and they could postpone their holiday, I do feel like they would enjoy it much more if they could push it to maybe September.
“But I know a lot of Irish and British people aren’t going to do that because they’re like, ‘Oh, we love the sun’. As an Irish person who loves the sun, it’s miserable.”
She added: “I’m actually going to book a trip home, I think, just to get away from it for a while.
“I’m showering potentially three times a day. Most days twice. But there comes a point like at the start of the summer this year when you just start sweating and I just haven’t not sweat since.
“We’re trying to make the most of like outdoor pools, like Montjuic pool and stuff like that.
“But everything is raising the prices because they know people need it, especially tourists. So the price of everything is going up in this heat as well.”
SPAIN HEAT ALERTS
SPAIN has been slapped with 118 heat alerts.
These cover virtually the entire country, with the exception of areas of the south east coast such as Almeria and swathes of the north east such as Oviedo.
In Seville, people have been warned the mercury will rise above 40C for the next three days – and night time temperatures are expected to remain around 25C.
Meanwhile, there are also warnings for storms and heavy rainfall in eastern regions of the country.
Those in Valencia and Catalonia have been warned as much as 20mm of rain could fall.
Leah had some valuable advice for anyone who does decide to push ahead with their holiday, warning they will need to stay safe.
She warned: “As much as you think you want that tan or you want to make the most of the sun, you can enjoy it safely and from indoors.
“The UV goes down from 6pm, even though it’s still hot and it’s a bit still hard to manage, it’s way safer for you.”
‘BE INSIDE’
Leah continued: “Go and actually see the culture and stuff. Book stuff, be inside for the hottest parts of the day.
“If you’re going to see Casa Batllo, maybe book that for around like 12pm. If you’re going outside places like Park Guell, like just make sure you have frozen bottles of water.
“The people selling bottles of water on the street, I heard a tourist being charged five euro for a small bottle of water the other day.”
She stressed: “I’m not even being dramatic. It is difficult to breathe in that heat. I avoid it most of the day.”
IRISH GOVERNMENT ADVICE
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also listed some important advice for Irish citizens living in Spain or Irish tourists visiting.
They warned: “During dry periods or periods of high temperatures, there is a risk of forest fires in many parts of Spain.
These can result in road and railway closures. In addition, air quality in areas near active fires may deteriorate and adversely affect travellers, particularly those with respiratory ailments.
“Irish citizens should monitor the news closely as the situation can change quickly, and take particular care to avoid engaging in any action that may contribute to the risk of forest fires when outdoors.
“We have no sign of it cooling down anytime soon. And I do fear August will be worse.”
Leah Daly
“If you see a fire or smoke, you are advised to call the emergency number 112. The operators speak English, and will be able to assist you.
And they added: “Spain can at times experience extreme weather conditions, including flooding, which can adversely affect travel plans.
“You can monitor information and alerts, including severe weather warnings, on the website of the Spanish Meteorological Agency, AEMET.
“Citizens are advised to check the latest weather information before they travel and to follow the advice of the local authorities.”
‘VERY HIGH RISK OF HEAT STRESS’
A UN climate spokesperson has warned that this will not be the last we see of killer heatwaves across Europe.
Clare Nullis, from the World Meteorological Organisation, issued the warning after temperatures hit 46C in Spain.
She said: “The frequency and intensity of extreme heat events is increasing in Europe.
She continued: “By 2050 about half the European population may be exposed to high or very high risk of heat stress during summer.”
