Tourist Death Toll In Greece Rises Amid Scorching Monthlong Heat Wave

On June 24, Greek authorities recovered the body of an unidentified 67-year-old German man who was discovered near Sentoni Beach on the Greek island of Crete.

According to NBC News, police say the man ventured off on a solo hike on June 23 in the Sougia region. After a few hours, he reportedly called his wife and told her he wasn’t feeling well. She later alerted the authorities when he never returned.

How Has The Heat Wave In Greece Impacted Tourists?

The 67-year-old man is the sixth known tourist death related to June’s record-breaking high temperatures in Greece and its islands.

That month, the Acropolis had to close itself from the public due to extreme heat above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Guardian reported that “school closures and health warnings” spread nationwide around that same time.

After a 55-year-old American man was found dead, a police spokesman for the Southern Aegean, Petros Vassilakis, told Reuters, “There is a common pattern — they all went for a hike amid high temperatures.”

In addition to the late American tourist, British TV host Michael Mosley, a 74-year-old Dutch traveler, and others have passed away during the heat wave. There are also those who’ve disappeared amid the heat, including two French women, 73 and 64, who are being searched for on Sikinos. There’s also an American policeman, 59, who rescue teams are looking for on Amorgos.

Panos Giannopoulos, Greece’s state TV meteorologist, previously emphasized that this year’s heat was unusual — and early.

According to The Guardian, he said, “In the 20th century we never had a heat wave before June 19. We have had several in the 21st century, but none before June 15.”

The 2023 European State of the Climate report found that year “saw a record number of days with ‘extreme heat stress.’ The source additionally noted that “2023 was the second-warmest year on record for Europe.”It also stated that due to human-caused climate change, Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent.