How to stay safe in the sun, as Irish tourists are warned of cancer risk in European heatwave

As a heatwave spreads across the south of Europe, bringing temperatures as high as 45 degrees in areas of Spain, Irish tourists have been warned to “be prepared and take extra care to protect their skin” by the Irish Cancer Society.

With Met Éireann forecasting the Cerberus heatwave to last long into next week, holidaymakers could be faced with heat-related risks.

Kevin O’Hagan, cancer prevention manager at the Irish Cancer Society, said the charity is “urging people who are travelling across Europe at this time of extreme high temperature to be prepared and take extra care to protect their skin”.

[ ‘Unbearable heatwave’ strikes popular tourist destinations in southern Europe ]

Many Irish people are at increased risk in the sun due to having relatively “fair skin”, Mr O’Hagan said. “Their skin will burn very quickly in such high temperatures, and this greatly increases their risk of skin cancer.”

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The charity warns that getting sunburnt hugely increases your risk of getting skin cancer, with getting burnt just once every two years tripling the risk of developing melanoma.

Stay hydrated

When it comes to the heatwave in the Mediterranean, “the most important thing to do is keep cool and hydrated”, according to the charity, alongside finding shade, covering up, wearing sunscreen and taking other sensible measures.

“No sunscreen can provide 100 per cent protection,” Mr O’Hagan said. While it is recommended to wear broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30 for adults and SPF 50 for children, he stressed the importance of regularly reapplying suncream with high UVA protection and water resistance.

The Irish Cancer Society recommends avoiding the sun in the hottest periods of the day, typically between 11am and 3pm. If staying inside is not possible during the height of the sun, the charity recommends staying out of direct sunlight, with Mr O’Hagan suggesting tourists sit “in the cover of trees to avoid direct sunlight”.

Sunglasses can also help, the charity recommends, by guarding your eyes against harm from the effects of UV exposure which can “damage the cornea, conjunctiva, lens and retina.” Similarly, clothing can also help avoiding sunburn by covering your skin.

Heat-related deaths

The heatwave is not just damaging for people’s skin, however, with a recent study published in Nature Journal finding that 61,672 people in Europe died of heat-related complications in the summer of 2022. The areas which the study found had the most heat-related deaths last summer are some of the worst affected by the continuing heatwave.

The study found that Italy and Spain had the most heat-related mortalities, with 18,010 such deaths taking place in Italy and 11,324 deaths occurring in Spain during the timeframe of the study.

Greece had the second-highest rate of heat-related death last summer, 280 heat-related deaths per million people. Greece is another country currently experiencing extreme climatic conditions during the heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees in places on Saturday.

Dealing with issues

If you do end up spending too much time in the sun, the Health Service Executive (HSE) recommends people to keep an eye out for headaches, dizziness or extreme thirst, all signs of heat stroke. If you do notice such symptoms arising, the health board recommends moving to a cool place, cooling the skin and drinking water.

When it comes to sunburn, the HSE also advises getting out of the sun when exposed to excessive sunlight, cooling the skin and applying aftersun cream such as aloe vera. They warn against popping blisters or disturbing peeling skin, advising to instead cover skin from direct sunlight until it has healed and to drink water to cool down and prevent dehydration.