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Original poster

To avoid summer holidays in Europe atm

182 replies

Meadowland · 17/07/2023 23:11

A friend is just back from Spain and spent the whole week indoors as it was "unbearably" hot.
We have just cancelled. Weather may be unpredictable here but at least we can go out !

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
LittleApartmentOnThePrairie · 18/07/2023 08:06

User1864876 · Today 08:01
I'm sure you are doing your bit @LittleApartmentOnThePrairie ,

?

ThisIsACoolUserName · 18/07/2023 08:08

LittleApartmentOnThePrairie · 18/07/2023 07:24

User1864876 · Today 07:14
ThisIsACoolUserName · Today 07:11

Re climate change and flying, a billionaire will holiday on their mega yacht and commission the pilot of their private plane to fly from the French Riviera to Russia and back to bring them a pot of the World's finest caviar for dinner!
I think your average working Joe can take a 2 hour flight to Spain once a year.

So you are right that, globally, the wealthiest 2% have by far the highest carbon footprint. But the wealthiest 10% take the flight. Why compare yourself to the the wealthiest 2%. Why not compare yourself to masses who populate the areas that are getting effected first and worst? Who have the lowest carbon emissions?

Your average Joe can keep taking a flight to Spain, if your average Joe feels comfortable with contributing to the climate emergency and when things get really tough for him and his children he feels he can look back and say; ‘Well yes, I knowingly contributed to the climate emergency, I may be partly responsible for the death and destruction around me, but it was all worth it for those holidays in Spain.

The science in unequivocal. If we keep pumping carbon into the atmosphere the works will get hotter. The weather more dangerous. Food harder to grow. Droughts. Higher mortality and morbidity. Mass migration. It’s already happening across the globe. When resources are scarce we will fight each other over them. So yes, if that’s the further we want, let’s keep going as we are. Or, we can change and avoid the worst extremes of it.

Your average Joe can keep taking a flight to Spain, if your average Joe feels comfortable with contributing to the climate emergency

I have a low carbon footprint in every other way, so yes, I'm comfortable if the short haul flight or two I take a year is contributing to the climate emergency.

But you do you.

Bellajac · 18/07/2023 08:09

I was in Greece last week. It was hot but I expected it to be and perfectly bearable. I was there 10 years ago at the end of July when there was a heatwave and it was much much hotter.

We often see extremes of temperature, either cold or warm. It's normal.

I'll be going back to Greece in September and I'm looking forward to it.

Original poster
Meadowland · 18/07/2023 08:10

Just back to thread. Sorry, I should have said "Southern Europe"
And yes I like sun and warm weather too, but 40 degrees - no way. Closing major tourist attractions such as the Acropolis due to the heat says it all.

OP posts:
User1864876 · 18/07/2023 08:10

The thread was originally about OP cancelling her holiday but like all these threads seems to have been derailed by climate change

goldcheese · 18/07/2023 08:10

Depends where you are going and what your holiday was going to be.
I used to live somewhere it would regularly be high 30's and low 40's. I don't cope well with heat, but I carried on with my normal life, but more slowly, walking in the shade and drinking a lot of water.
I would not have laid on a beach and drunk alcohol in that heat though, it was too hot and my body needed water.

Most places have Aircon.
And I assume we don't know how long the heatwave could last, it could be back to normal temps by the time you get there.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 18/07/2023 08:10

I admit I’m looking forward to my holiday in Greece this year!

We don’t fly annually or even often though - I realise we shouldn’t be doing it at all, maybe this will be the last time.

I don’t know why you booked in the first place if warm weather was going to make you cancel though.

User1864876 · 18/07/2023 08:11

I probably wouldn't have booked the hottest time of the year, April, May or October would have probably been better.

Express0 · 18/07/2023 08:12

I will carry on having my couple of flights a year. They are a drop in the office compared to china, India etc.

Express0 · 18/07/2023 08:12

Express0 · 18/07/2023 08:12

I will carry on having my couple of flights a year. They are a drop in the office compared to china, India etc.

Ocean not office 🙄

sunglassesonthetable · 18/07/2023 08:14

Tbh Europe is a vast place.

The Greek Island I was on was hot and lovely last week. Didn't even check the temperature. Mitigated by the sea I suppose.

I suppose it depends where you were planning to visit.

Somewhere like Seville would be crazy hot anyway.

ZannahStop · 18/07/2023 08:14

I mean, you could've just said Athens 😆

Bizarre. And no, I'm not cancelling my holiday, just adapting to the circumstances rather than persevering with a tour of the acropolis (because I'm not insane)

Worldgonecrazy · 18/07/2023 08:17

Lots of cheap last minute deals available. Wish I could get the time off!

Sarfar45 · 18/07/2023 08:17

We've been to Turkey this year. It's was mega hot but if we go on a summer holiday we just relax and enjoy the pool and beach. If we wanted to do sightseeing we would go in the spring or autumn.

Porthia · 18/07/2023 08:18

Well I guess it depends on what is going to be enjoyable for you and your family. If you really can’t abide the heat and want to do active things like exploring a city or if you have young kids who will want to be on a beach all day then I understand why it’s not palatable.

Personally I don’t mind the scorching heat but my DH and kids struggle so probably wouldn’t book to go to Greece or somewhere in August. We are going to Brittany and down the west coast of France which is currently about 25 degrees and a bit changeable weather-wise. Last year we did the south of France and it was lovely but even hotter than normal down there so decided to do a bit further north this year! That said I still really enjoyed it last year it just meant we had to have a break in the air con and didn’t do as many activities away from the pool as we might usually do!

StefanosHill · 18/07/2023 08:18

Willmafrockfit · 18/07/2023 07:08

and one of the bad things for climate change is air con,
let's provide lots of air con because it is so hot!

All the I’m getting air con and holiday posts may not age well

op did you lose your money?

Maddy70 · 18/07/2023 08:19

I live in Spain. It's hot but only as hot as August usually is. It's just a few weeks early. Do what the spanish do. Out and about early 2-4 nice shady lunch. Then siesta. Come out after 7.

Maddy70 · 18/07/2023 08:21

Meadowland · 18/07/2023 08:10

Just back to thread. Sorry, I should have said "Southern Europe"
And yes I like sun and warm weather too, but 40 degrees - no way. Closing major tourist attractions such as the Acropolis due to the heat says it all.

It is still open. 5hey are closing at siesta time like they often do in the summer British press loves to twist a story

cakeorwine · 18/07/2023 08:22

User1864876 · 18/07/2023 08:10

The thread was originally about OP cancelling her holiday but like all these threads seems to have been derailed by climate change

TBF - there is a link

cakeorwine · 18/07/2023 08:24

Maddy70 · 18/07/2023 08:21

It is still open. 5hey are closing at siesta time like they often do in the summer British press loves to twist a story

Show quote history

3 days in a row between 12pm and 5pm?

Which is a long time of the day

Divinericepudding · 18/07/2023 08:24

LittleApartmentOnThePrairie · 18/07/2023 07:07

notsurewherenotsurewhy · Today 06:48
SoTheyAre · Today 06:43

That is a bit unnecessary op but OTOH the less air travel the better for the environment.

What I don't get is if this is all due to global warming why is anyone still travelling by plane?
Same. I wouldn't cancel a holiday due to temps of high 30s, I used to quite enjoy that kind of heat in southern Europe, but I don't fly because it contributes to causing this climate breakdown, so if you've cancelled a flight then YANBU at all from my perspective!

Yes, we are a strange, strange species…

Hey, humans - if you keep releasing carbon into the atmosphere the weather is going to go crazy. It’s going to get so hot people will die. Food will be harder to grow and you’ll end up killing each other over it. Flying is a massive carbon polluter so may be stop flying?

But I like my holidays abroad. I get to relax and enjoy myself.

Ok but, look now you’ve kept releasing loads of carbon, the places you go on holiday are already too hot to enjoy and people are already dying. Things are going to get devastatingly hard for everyone. Wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, food shortages, drought, higher mortality and morbidity, mass migration and conflict/wars. Are you sure you want to keep flying on holiday?

Oh yes, but I’ll go at a different time of year or to somewhere else.

But, you know that you won’t be protected from the impact of the climate emergency right? It will effect everyone. True, poor people and people in other areas will be effected first and worst, but as more of works turns to dessert and more people move on, and food gets harder to grow - you will ALL have a really tough existence.

Oh, I’m not going to think about that, because I just want my holiday abroad. I’ve earned it.

Oh, erm, ok.

This is the wallpaper in my head permanently 😔

ZannahStop · 18/07/2023 08:25

"Lots of cheap last minute deals available. Wish I could get the time off!"

I can't see any 🤔

Divinericepudding · 18/07/2023 08:28

ThisIsACoolUserName · 18/07/2023 07:11

Re climate change and flying, a billionaire will holiday on their mega yacht and commission the pilot of their private plane to fly from the French Riviera to Russia and back to bring them a pot of the World's finest caviar for dinner!
I think your average working Joe can take a 2 hour flight to Spain once a year.

Oh well that's alright then. The fraction of the population who will be flying in private jets is miniscule compared to all the 2/3 hour flights your average 'Joe' will be taking, it all adds up massively. Personally I think we should all be given a quota, you get one short haul flight a year, one long haul flight every 5 years. Clearly will never happen as there's no global government and none of the so called leaders give a flying feck anyhow. Carry on just watching the burning, flooding and drought, it's awful 😞

Divinericepudding · 18/07/2023 08:32

Bellajac · 18/07/2023 08:09

I was in Greece last week. It was hot but I expected it to be and perfectly bearable. I was there 10 years ago at the end of July when there was a heatwave and it was much much hotter.

We often see extremes of temperature, either cold or warm. It's normal.

I'll be going back to Greece in September and I'm looking forward to it.

Of course it's not normal, jeez I can dig out the charts to show you but you would just lala over them. Climate change is not in dispute fgs

Divinericepudding · 18/07/2023 08:34

User1864876 · 18/07/2023 08:10

The thread was originally about OP cancelling her holiday but like all these threads seems to have been derailed by climate change

I'm sensing by all your posts that you think that climate change isn't really a thing 🙄