Too hot to handle?

This week the nighttime temperature in Banyalbufar, famous for Sir Richard Branson's new hotel, reached the 37 degrees Centigrade mark. Residents say that they were unable to sleep and battled with the heat all night.

Down in Palma, businesses are complaining that the heat is keeping tourists away from their terraces. Takings are down. Rather ironically, though, tourists come here for the sun which then proves to be too hot. Even the Mallorcans are complaining about the heat! Is it hotter than normal? Probably not but if you don't have air conditioning in your home you have a problem.

When I first moved to Mallorca air conditioning was unheard of, now it has become a necessity. The heat wave appears to be ending and we must remember that it is not only the Balearics, parts of the mainland have been even hotter. In Andalusia, many residents refuse to go out during the day simply because it is too hot. I think you can safely say that a similar state of affairs occurred in Mallorca this week.

Can we blame global warming? Well many boffins are and some are calling for radical action to ease pollution. Yet again rather ironically the tourist industry is being blamed for its “polluting aircraft”. Also, causing concern is the heating up of the Mediterranean with some warning that soon even a swim will not refresh you.

Mallorca's future depends on the sun and if it is too hot tourists could go elsewhere. This is a problem we are going to have to deal with sooner rather than later. The clock is ticking.