THE heatwave may have ‘come home to roast’ yesterday, but most tourists seemed to be taking it in their stride, enjoying the hotter than usual scorching Cyprus sun.
“The hotter the better!” said British visitor Sarah Prowdley, one of the tourists questioned in a Cyprus Mail straw poll on Nicosia’s Ledra Street at around midday yesterday.
She and her husband said they were having “no trouble” adjusting to the sizzling temperatures.
The tourists seemed oblivious of heat-wave warnings from the Meteorological Department and health authorities. Temperatures may have been hovering about five degrees above the seasonal average yesterday, with increased humidity to boot, but foreign visitors to the capital seemed to be taking it all in their stride.
Another couple from London, Tony and Fiona Robinson, were surprised to hear temperatures were above normal: “There’s a heatwave?” they asked. They said they hadn’t even realised. Glad to get away from the British weather, they said they wanted “to absorb as much of the sun and heat as possible”.
A visitor from Australia, Melinda Berry, said she was accustomed to the heat and that “low humidity in Nicosia makes the high temperatures bearable”.
However, tourists with young children were being more careful, making sure that the youngsters were not dehydrated and keeping them in the shade.
Only a few tourists complained of the impact of the heatwave. Among them were Asa Stromhielm and Kristin Lundgren from Sweden, who said temperatures were “very high” and that they were trying to avoid direct sunlight.
“It’s very hot. I feel I’m melting,” agreed Sue Halliwell from Bristol, who said she found it hard to cope with the heat.
But overall, the tourists were not letting the heat spoil their holidays.
The Meteorological Department is warning the public to avoid exposure to the sun for prolonged periods and to drink plenty of water. Wearing light-coloured clothing and a hat, as well as avoiding heavy meals, also helps in coping with the heat wave.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
