Nearly every year since 2000, Jenise Campbell, 54, has traveled to Paris from New York. Last year marked her first summer visit and it went so well that she went again this year. She arrived in late June, with plans to stay until mid-August, but after three weeks, she did something she described as “unthinkable”: She changed her flight and went home.
Her reason for absconding? The extreme heat.
“I would never, ever leave Paris early, but walking around with your pants stuck to you,” Campbell said, “I just thought: ‘There’s no way I’m doing this.’”
On the heels of the third heat wave in Western Europe since May, some travelers are starting to question whether taking a summer vacation in Europe is a good idea.
The recent heat waves have sent temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Paris; to 111 degrees Fahrenheit in Valencia, Spain; and over 100 in Geneva. London sweltered in the mid-90s as early as May. Dry conditions also contributed to fires: One, about 60 miles from Madrid, has been raging for days.
