The Spanish Meteorological Institute has announced unusually high temperatures in June. The temperature has dropped 40 degrees in several places, and experts warn people with health problems against traveling to the heat. Chief physician Gunnar Hasle at Kry Reiseklinikken, says that it can take a long time for Norwegians to acclimatize to such high temperatures. In the worst case, the heat can lead to illness and hospitalizations. – We expect inquiries The insurance companies say that they expect more inquiries related to illness in the heat. – In similar cases before, we have received a lot, including from people who have to be admitted due to the heat, says communications director Andreas Handeland in If. If’s communications director, Andreas Handeland, says they have already received questions from Norwegians about rights related to the heat wave in Europe. Photo: If Also in Gjensidige, they are familiar with many cases from previous years, related to, among other things, heart problems and heat stroke in the heat. – It is something we are familiar with and that repeats itself, of course, says communications manager Bjarne Aani Rysstad. Handeland in If tells news that they have already received inquiries from Norwegians who want to know if they cover cancellations due to the heat. – We do not. In Seville, this woman took a break in the shade with a bottle of water this week. The degree has crept over 40 degrees in the city located in the interior of southwestern Spain. Photo: Marcelo del Pozo / Reuters – Not enough to worry They emphasize that you are not entitled to help or money until you get really sick from the heat. – If you are worried about the heat, then there is no reason to cancel. But if you are first on the trip and something happens, then you will get all the help we can contribute, says Rysstad in Gjensidige. In Madrid, the temperature gauge showed 47 degrees this week. Many need to seek shelter from the heat in the shade or indoors. Photo: Susana Vera / Reuters If the holiday is ruined by the heat, you may be entitled to insurance money. – If it leads to lost holidays due to hospitalizations or ultimately delayed return home, then we help, says Handeland in If. He emphasizes that it requires a statement from a doctor to get back on the insurance. – Compensation must be able to be linked to an acute and unforeseen event, which is what an insurance policy must cover. Therefore, we need a medical report regarding treatment for illness, just as we need a copy of a police report regarding robbery / theft. Formerly hot If you are going out and traveling this summer and would like to know where the heat wave is coming from, it is currently difficult to predict, according to Hans Olav Hygen at the Norwegian Climate Service Center. Right now, the heat wave is stretching from Spain and Portugal all the way up to the UK. – It’s quite early for a heat wave. Usually the warmest weather comes at the turn of the month July-August, says Hygen. The Spanish Meteorological Institute, Aemet, has estimated that summer in Spain now begins about 20 to 40 days earlier than it did 50 years ago. In general for Europe, summer comes one month earlier now. The last time a heat wave came so early in Spain is said to have been in 1981. Heat waves are becoming more frequent and also begin earlier in the year, according to Aemet. In August 2021, the anticyclone Lucifer sent temperatures up in Italy. A new European record is said to have been measured at 48.8 degrees in Sicily. These women tried to cool off by a fan outside the Colosseum in Rome. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP More common also in Norway No heat waves in Europe are free of human influence. Human emissions of greenhouse gases increase the probability and intensity of heat waves. It shows a study from the World Meteorological Organization in 2019. Also in Norway it has already become more common. Over the last thirty years, the number of heat waves has increased significantly. Several places in Viken are experiencing twice as many heat waves now as thirty years ago. A heat wave in Norway is defined as three consecutive days with a maximum temperature that is on average 28 degrees or higher.
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