These tourist spots hit by climatic extremes

Every summer, holidaymakers have to be evacuated from their holiday resorts due to extreme weather events or even natural disasters. For example, earlier this month, more than 1,500 people were forced to flee Crete after a forest fire raged. Other times, violent thunderstorms or severe weather force tourists to flee.

In this context, researchers from the Western Norway Research Institute in Sogndal, Norway, analyzed which tourist destinations within the European Union are particularly affected. Published in the journal "Natural Hazards," the study found that the highest concentration of thunderstorms is found in northern Italy, along the Southern Alps, and between Croatia and Albania. In the Dolomites, for example, lightning and thunder can last up to 500 hours a year, the "Tages-Anzeiger" reports.

As for persistent precipitation, the heaviest is found in the Norwegian fjords. High values are also observed in the southern Dinaric Alps, between Montenegro and Albania. Finally, the Iberian Peninsula is the most affected by forest fires, with 200 to 250 days per year. Italy and Greece, on average, experience 100 to 150 days of fires per year.

In a second step, the researchers linked these events to the tourism dependence of the different regions analyzed. And, unsurprisingly, with this new index, the Norwegian fjords disappear from the podiums, due to their low tourist numbers. Conversely, some Mediterranean regions are making a real comeback.

A popular destination, the southern Aegean Sea, between Athens and Crete, is regularly affected by all three hazards: thunderstorms, heavy rain, and forest fires. The Ionian Islands, further east, are affected by two hazards: thunderstorms and extreme rain. In addition, a high risk of forest fires and mass tourism are found in the Balearic Islands, Crete, and the Algarve in Portugal. Finally, South Tyrol, Trentino, Valle d'Aosta, and Croatia's Adriatic coast suffer from violent thunderstorms, while attracting many travelers.