A self-confessed sun worshiper on holiday in Corfu has admitted the heat wave gripping Europe is ‘unbearable’.
Tracy Byrne has just arrived on the Greek island for a two week family vacation and the temperatures are soaring to 39°C.
The 47-year-old says people staying at Damia’s Hotel in the north of the island ‘can’t spend more than five minutes in the sun’.
Other vacationers at the resort run for shelter indoors to seek relief from the air conditioning or have to jump into the pool to cool off.
Soaking up the rays is nearly impossible in the scorching weather, which the mother-of-two described as ‘the hottest she’s ever seen in Greece’.
Even locals are struggling to cope with the sweltering conditions and Tracy says they are “dripping sweat” and told her it was “awful”.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I like the sun, but people are struggling here. Especially the locals and the people who work there, running around to serve and bring drinks and food.
“Can you imagine cooks here in Greece in a kitchen? They are absolutely soaked in sweat.
“We know all the staff and they all said they were struggling and it was too much. Last week they had it all week, so they’re really done now.
“And the thing is, they know there’s more to come, so I think they’re just struggling to do their job.”
Tracy, who works as a podiatrist and runs the Holistic Health Clinic in Hackney, London, says she has been coming to Greece for 25 years but has never experienced anything like this.
In the midst of the Charon heat wave, which closely followed the Cerberus anticyclone, Greece is currently one of the hottest countries in Europe.
So much so that many families in the UK have canceled their holidays due to extreme weather – and other tourists to Corfu are struggling.
“I think the majority of people struggle with that amount of heat,” Tracy said.
‘As soon as you see someone, the first thing they say is ‘God, it’s so hot’ and ‘when is it going to end?’
‘It’s too much. For most people, I think it’s probably unbearable.
When asked if people could tan at all, Tracy replied, “Only for very short periods of time. People are not just lying by the pool.
“You can see it coming to you after five to ten minutes and they’re either back in the water or going back inside to their air-conditioned apartments.”
Despite the scorching heat, Tracy, husband Uddie, 53, and daughters Annie, 16, and Kitty, 13, will still be trying to make the most of their vacation.
They plan to take a ferry ride to neighboring Albania, hire an air-conditioned car to see more of the island, and make the most of boat trips and pedalo rides.
“Anything near water so we can really cool off,” Tracy added.
Scientists have warned the heatwave was likely the result of global warming and Tracy admitted she is worried about climate change, after seeing how hot it is in Corfu at the moment.
She said: “I think things are really changing, we’ve all seen that. We start putting two and two together and we think “wait a minute, where is this going to end? Will it be 45°C in 10 years, which would probably be too much for anyone?
“It’s getting really ridiculous. I have real concerns about the future and what climate change is doing – and the unknown element is probably the scariest, because we don’t know where it’s going to stop.
Elsewhere in Europe, a freak storm with tennis ball-sized hailstones hit northern Italy and injured at least 110 people.
Six people died and dozens were injured after a powerful storm hit the Balkans.
Wildfires caused by the heat wave have ravaged several countries, including Greece, where the flames are said to have “spread uncontrollably” in Athens.
In the United States, heat records have been broken and smoke from wildfires has triggered air quality warnings.
Contact our press team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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