IRISH people living abroad have described feeling like prisoners in their own homes as the heat has become unbearable across Europe.
While Ireland faced rare scorching temperatures of 33C in places this week, such stifling heat has become the norm on Europe’s mainland as well as the south of England.
Britain was forecast to see temperatures hit 40C for the first time today after logging its warmest night on record, while wildfires raged across parched countryside in France, Spain and elsewhere.
As a heatwave that settled over southern Europe last week edged northwards, southern and western Germany and Belgium were also braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures, with many scientists pointing the finger of blame at climate change.
Debris at a camp site destroyed by a major fire near La Teste-de-Buch forest as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France. Photo: Reuters/Pascal Rossignol
Debris at a camp site destroyed by a major fire near La Teste-de-Buch forest as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France. Photo: Reuters/Pascal Rossignol
While the mercury dipped back towards more normal summer levels in Spain and Portugal, firefighters in both countries were still battling multiple blazes.
Independent.ie spoke to Irish people living in countries with some of the hottest temperatures this summer: Portugal, Spain, and France.
Eoin Brosnan, 30, is a teacher from Tralee, Co. Kerry. He has lived in Lisbon, Portugal for the past three years and admits he is struggling through this particularly hot summer.
“I will be honest, it's not easy,” he says. “I try to do my activities very early in the morning, or late in the evening. Between that I feel like I am in survival mode.
Eoin Brosnan, who is based in Lisbon, Portugal, has been taking several cold showers per day to cool down
“I play with a Gaelic football team here (Forca Celtiberos) and we have moved our training from a pitch setting to the beach to get a breezier environment and have the chance to take a dip after.”
When asked if this was the worst heatwave he has experienced, Mr Brosnan responded that when he was a teenager, he went on holiday to the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey, in which he remembers boiling to degrees of 35C.
“I experienced 38 degrees here in Lisbon last week, and I wasn't bald as a teenager, so yes I would say it is the worst.”
Mr Brosnan explained that while there is “no magic spell” to combat the heat, he eats a lot of salad, wears comfortable clothing, and takes multiple cold showers a day.
He also expressed worries about the fires in Palmela, as the wildfire ravaged through the landscape south of Lisbon. He added that “they are receiving a lot of local support, which is great to see”.
Terry McKinley, 59, a real estate broker from Co. Antrim, has lived in Malaga, Spain for the past 24 years. While he is used to the heat by now, this year is proving to be different.
“High temperatures in this part of Spain are common, so it is not a great deal different than most years,” he says. “The difference this year is it is early – it is not normally like this until August.
Terry McKinley says extreme heat has arrived in Malaga, Spain earlier than usual
“It feels like the worst but so does every year. Very often you hear ‘that’s the hottest July I remember’ until social media reminds you that you said that last year.
"In general, we joke about the climate here, saying we spend all winter wishing it was summer and all summer wishing it was winter.”
Mr McKinley added: “The noticeable thing this year is the number of serious bush fires we have had so far. The last was just extinguished yesterday near Alhaurin, Malaga, fought by firefighting aeroplanes and helicopters.”
Martin Loughrey, 44, a kitchen designer from Dublin, has lived in Paris, France since 2008.
“The longer it goes on, the harder it is. It gets harder to cool the house down and to sleep,” he says.
France is also suffering from record temperatures as wildfires driven by heatwaves spread throughout the countryside. This has resulted in forecasters placing large parts of the country on the highest state of alert due to extreme heat.
“They seem to be an annual thing now as against every couple of years as it used to be,” said Mr Loughrey.
To combat the heat in Paris, Martin Loughrey (pictured with his daughter) has been keep his house relatively dark
In order to combat the heat, he has been keeping the house as dark as possible and taking cold showers.
“It really helps getting to sleep, and the better you sleep at night, the easier it is to tolerate the heat during the day.”
Zoe Martin, 38, an English teacher from Dublin, has also been living in Paris and is finding it “extremely difficult living in these high temperatures especially with young children and a baby”.
She adds: “We give regular baths to our seven-month-old throughout the day. We put her bed sheets in the freezer, so they’re cool for bedtime.”
As for the fires, Ms Martin and her family recently returned from holiday in Biscarrosse in southwest France “where there were forest fires on each side of our camp site. Luckily enough, the fires were at a distance, but we could see the firefighter planes overhead and were happy when it was time to leave”.
She added: “Every day is spent desperately trying to keep the children cool and hydrated. I miss Ireland more and more with its cooler temperatures as you can still leave the house in the rain. Here, we feel like prisoners to our house.”
