As I write this, the death toll in Morocco continues to rise, with close to 3,000 dead and over 2,500 injured. Parts of Marrakech have been devastated and, in the Atlas Mountains, whole villages reduced to rubble. The epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude quake was near the town of Oukaïmedene, some 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Marrakech. At a depth of ~16 miles (25 km), the quake was relatively shallow and shaking was reported across Morocco and in Algeria, Portugal and Spain.
This year, we have seen multiple extreme weather events, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms and floods around the world. Each event captures the headlines for a day or two, and then the focus shifts to the next “hot spot”, the next crisis. This is our new normal. Back in July, the Earth experienced the hottest global temperatures in history. The scientists found that greenhouse gas emissions made the heatwaves 2.5°C hotter in Europe, 2°C hotter in North America, and 1°C hotter in China than if humankind had not changed the global atmosphere.
We have changed our Earth’s climate, and we have to cope with the consequences. Those consequences have now arrived in the northern hemisphere with devastating impacts on life, livelihoods and landscapes. I wrote here on TravelTomorrow back in July about how the UK press with headlines screaming “Rhodes on Fire” (Metro), “Our Terror” (Mirror), “Run for your lives, Brits escape inferno with seconds left” (The Sun), “Hell on Earth” (Daily Express). As I expected, there has been little further coverage of the fires and their impact.
On September 1st, The Guardian published “A visual guide to Greece’s deadly wildfires”. The photographs reveal both the horror of wildfire and the scale of the destruction. In Greece on average, between 2006 and 2022 less than 50,000 hectares were burnt. To 26 August this year 161,000 have already burnt. And of course, wildfires as a positive feedback loop, by the 26th of August 7.93 million tonnes of greenhouse gases had been added to our atmosphere. Communities evacuated as the fire spread return to their devastated communities, the consequences for them are long-term.
The causes of climate change are global, the impacts are local and are often devastating. Public health experts have estimated that in Europe, heat killed more than 60,000 people between 30th May and 4th September in 2022. Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal had the highest mortality rates as individuals and their surviving families and friends experienced the loss.
Wildfires and floods, like earthquakes, may kill fewer people but the consequences for whole communities impacted by fire and flood are both immediate and long-term. Fires and floods destroy homes and businesses, homestays, resorts and hotels, and the natural landscapes which attract tourists.
The Economist points out that tourism is 5% of the EU’s GDP, and in Greece 18.5%. The Economist argues that “efforts by firms to mitigate the effects of global warming will have little overall impact. More importantly, tourism will need to adapt to climate change.” The Economist reports Thomas Ellerbeck, chief sustainability officer at TUI, which is more strictly managing water resources, looking to predict extreme weather events and extending booking season in Greece into November. The Economist concludes that “there is a silver lining for the holidaymakers who will either discover the unexpected beauty of Baltic beaches or may go south at different times of the year. A shift by some tourists to the spring or autumn will help with the overcrowding which has become a such a nuisance for residents and those visitors eager to imbibe the culture of Dubrovnik, Venice, Barcelona or other marvels of southern Europe in relative peace.”
On the other hand tourists do not want to holiday amongst the ash of a burnt forest- real and lasting damage is being done by the consequences of global warming and tectonic plates.
