With sea temperatures in the high 20s, open-water swimmer Grabiela Rojas feels it isn’t safe to train in the ocean near Valencia this summer.
Rojas, 35, is instead training by swimming laps in an indoor pool, rather than long distances in the ocean. “It’s way too hot in the water,” she says of Spain’s coastal waters, which have hit new records for this time of year. “There’s a point where you can’t cool down. It’s brutal.”
Rojas tried to train in the sea a couple of times about three weeks ago, but says it felt dangerous. The water offered no respite from the heat. “It’s so humid and then you get into the water and it’s like stepping into a soup. After five minutes I was out of breath, felt dizzy, panicked a bit and got out. I decided that I’m not going to go back until September, or whenever it cools.”
Rojas says she installed solar panels at home this year, allowing her and her husband to keep it affordably cool. “We’ve been running [air conditioning] non-stop because it’s free. Last year, we were way more conscious because we didn’t want to have a €500 electricity bill.”
However, the unit in the bedroom broke last week, and waiting for the repair has been miserable. “I can’t function if I can’t sleep in a comfortable environment. The fan doesn’t help. [My husband and I] are sleeping in separate rooms because another body of heat is too much.
“I just try not to go out. Last year, I would go out at night for a walk – now I just don’t want to. Going outside feels like a punishment.”
A fourth heatwave is forecast for southern Europe next week, leaving people in the region with little chance to recover from the last one, which saw parts of Sicily reach 47C (117F).
In an attempt to escape the heat, Rosalyn Smith, a sales representative near the northern Italian city of Pavia, has gone up to her shack in the hills of Varzi. But even at the elevated altitude, conditions are proving difficult for the 67-year-old, who has lived in Italy for 35 years. “I went to a higher altitude but the heat and the mosquitoes have followed, which is so unusual. I’ve been bitten terribly. There were a few last year, but five years ago there were none at this altitude.”
She says being kept indoors by the prolonged extreme temperatures feels reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic. “It’s like being in lockdown again. It brings back the old feeling of staying out as little as possible. The heat stops you from thinking straight. I’m having sleepless nights – I keep turning the pillow over.”
Smith says the summers have changed since she moved to Italy more than three decades ago. “It’s a completely different thing. The intense heat starts earlier and goes on for longer. In Italy, they call it la bella stagione – the beautiful season. It no longer is. I can’t wait for summer to be over.”
Noelia Rubio,…
2023-07-22 06:00:10
Article from www.theguardian.com
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