They think they can push through. That is a mistake.
As El Niño pushes summer temperatures to punishing extremes across the Northern Hemisphere, travelers face a quiet but serious reckoning: the open road and the holiday sun carry risks that forethought alone can tame. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are not misfortunes reserved for the careless — they are hazards that find the unprepared, the vulnerable, and the stubborn alike. Experts from NYU Langone to Duke University are offering the same counsel: treat heat the way seasoned mountaineers treat cold, with respect, preparation, and a willingness to change course.
- An emerging El Niño pattern is intensifying summer heat globally, turning routine travel into a potential health hazard for millions of vacationers.
- Vulnerable travelers — the elderly, pregnant women, young children, and those on blood pressure or anxiety medications — face compounded risks that a packed itinerary can easily overlook.
- The danger is not only outdoors: a parked car in direct sun, a hotel without reliable air conditioning, or a long drive without water can each become a crisis point.
- Experts urge travelers to restructure their days around the heat — moving strenuous activity to early morning or evening and treating midday as a mandatory retreat indoors.
- Warning signs like dizziness, cramps, and clammy skin demand immediate action; when symptoms escalate to confusion or unconsciousness, heat stroke — a life-threatening emergency — has arrived.
- For those whose trips are derailed by dangerous heat, financial safety nets including cancel-for-any-reason insurance and weather guarantee services offer a path to partial recovery.
The summer ahead is running hotter than usual. With an El Niño pattern building across the Northern Hemisphere, travelers heading out for mid-year getaways are being urged to treat heat not as a backdrop to their plans, but as a variable that demands its own preparation. Heat exhaustion is unpleasant; heat stroke can be fatal. The difference between the two often comes down to decisions made before leaving home.
Dr. Alexander Azan of NYU Langone Health puts it simply: heat preparedness deserves the same serious attention as packing for a winter expedition. That means checking not just temperatures but the heat index — the number that accounts for humidity and reflects what the air actually feels like. If the forecast looks brutal, consider shifting toward cooler coastal or elevated destinations, and restructure your days so that physical activity happens in the early morning or late evening. Midday belongs to shade, air conditioning, and rest. Before booking, confirm that lodging has reliable cooling and that the surrounding area has not been prone to power outages.
Who is traveling with you matters enormously. Ashley Ward of Duke University's Heat Policy Innovation Hub notes that certain common medications — for blood pressure, anxiety, depression — impair the body's ability to regulate temperature. Older adults, pregnant women, infants, and young children are all at heightened risk. Even carrying an infant against your body transfers heat directly to the child. Itineraries should bend around these realities, not ignore them.
Packing with heat in mind means a reusable water bottle, light-colored breathable clothing, sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses. Cooling towels and portable fans help, though fans become counterproductive in extreme heat, simply recirculating hot air. For road trips, have the vehicle inspected well in advance — cooling system and battery especially — and never leave children, pets, or elderly passengers alone in a parked car, even for a moment.
Vacation itself changes behavior in ways that raise risk: longer sun exposure, more physical exertion, more alcohol. The critical error, Ward warns, is ignoring the body's early signals. Dizziness, nausea, muscle cramps, and cool clammy skin are alerts to move to shade, loosen clothing, and sip water. If symptoms shift to confusion, slurred speech, loss of consciousness, or skin that is hot to the touch, the situation has become a medical emergency requiring immediate help.
For travelers who find conditions genuinely unsafe, financial recovery is available. Cancel-for-any-reason travel insurance offers partial reimbursement, and services like Sensible Weather and WeatherPromise can cover costs for days lost to dangerous heat. The experts' collective message is unhurried but firm: stay attuned to your surroundings and your body, take cooling seriously, and be willing to revise your plans. The best trip is the one you come home from well.
The thermometer is climbing. Across the Northern Hemisphere, forecasters are tracking above-average temperatures for the coming summer, with an emerging El Niño pattern promising to push things hotter still before year's end. For travelers packing their bags for mid-year getaways, the heat is not merely uncomfortable—it is a genuine threat. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke, the latter potentially fatal, wait in the wings of any journey into sustained high temperatures.
But the risk is manageable with forethought. Dr. Alexander Azan, who co-directs the Project Heatwave initiative at NYU Langone Health, frames the challenge plainly: heat preparedness for summer travel should receive the same serious attention that cold-weather expeditions do. The work begins before you leave home.
Start by checking both daytime and nighttime temperatures for your destination, but pay special attention to the heat index—that number that factors in humidity and tells you what the air actually feels like on your skin. If the forecast looks punishing, you have options. Shift your plans toward cooler coastal regions or higher elevations if geography allows. Schedule your hiking, your long walks, your outdoor exertion for the cool hours of early morning or late evening, leaving the brutal midday stretch for museums, movies, or a long coffee break indoors. Before booking lodging, verify that air conditioning is reliable and ask whether the region has experienced recent power outages. Locate cooling centers nearby and keep emergency numbers accessible.
Think carefully about who is traveling with you. Certain medications—those prescribed for high blood pressure, anxiety, depression—interfere with the body's ability to regulate its own temperature, according to Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University. Older adults, pregnant women, young children, and infants all face heightened vulnerability to heat stress. Carrying an infant against your body, for instance, transfers additional warmth directly to the child. Adjust your itinerary with these vulnerabilities in mind.
Packing becomes strategic. Bring a reusable water bottle and fill it often. Choose light-colored, breathable fabrics. Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat are non-negotiable. A cooling towel and portable fan can help, though a fan becomes counterproductive in extreme heat—it simply recirculates hot air. If you are driving, have your vehicle inspected weeks in advance, with particular attention to the engine cooling system and battery. Confirm that rental cars come equipped with functioning air conditioning. Pack water and snacks for the journey. Take breaks to hydrate and stretch. Never leave children, pets, or elderly passengers alone in a vehicle, even briefly.
Keep your car as cool as possible by parking in shade and using a windshield protector. When you return to a hot vehicle, turn on the air conditioning but leave recirculation off initially—let fresh air cycle through. Once the car begins to cool, switch recirculation on. David Bennett, a senior automotive manager at AAA, offers a practical rule: never let your fuel tank drop below a quarter full. If you do become stranded with the engine running, cycle it on and off every few minutes to maintain air conditioning without overheating the engine. If you need help, stay in the car or in nearby shade rather than walking along the roadside in searing heat. Place reflectors or cones in front of the vehicle and use a car charger to call for assistance.
Vacation itself changes behavior in ways that increase risk. Long hours in the sun, intense physical activity, alcohol consumption beyond your normal intake—all of these amplify heat-related danger. The critical mistake, Ward emphasizes, is pushing through warning signals. Dizziness, nausea, muscle cramps, sweating accompanied by cool and clammy skin—these are your body's early alerts. Move to shade, loosen tight clothing, drink water in small sips. If symptoms escalate to slurred speech, loss of consciousness, severe confusion, or skin that feels hot to the touch, seek immediate medical help. These are signs of heat stroke, a medical emergency.
If extreme heat makes a trip genuinely unsafe, financial recovery is possible. Travel insurance with a cancel-for-any-reason rider offers partial reimbursement. In the United States, services like Sensible Weather and WeatherPromise will reimburse travel and lodging costs for days lost to rain, snow, or dangerous heat—you add the weather guarantee when booking through their registered partners. The overarching wisdom from experts is simple: stay aware of your environment and your body's signals, take cooling seriously, and remain willing to change plans. A good vacation is one you return from healthy.
Notable Quotes
The same way that we prepare for more extreme travel in the cold, we should start to consider those tips to keep us safe in the summer months.— Dr. Alexander Azan, NYU Langone Health
A lot of the prescription drugs that we take for common conditions like high blood pressure, anxiety, depression actually interrupt our body's ability to thermoregulate.— Ashley Ward, Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does heat feel like such a different kind of travel problem than, say, cold?
Cold is visible. You see snow, you feel the bite immediately, and you prepare defensively. Heat is insidious because your body can mask the danger until it's too late. You feel fine, then suddenly you don't—and by then you're in real trouble.
The source mentions that certain medications interfere with thermoregulation. That seems like a detail most travelers wouldn't know about themselves.
Exactly. Someone on blood pressure medication might not connect that pill to their vulnerability in heat. They think they're just tired or dehydrated. That's why the pre-trip inventory matters—not just packing, but understanding who you are traveling with and what their bodies need.
The advice about the car—cycling the engine on and off if stranded. That's oddly specific. Does that actually work?
It does. You're buying yourself air conditioning without cooking the engine. But it only works if you stay calm and stay put. The instinct to walk for help in extreme heat is what kills people.
What about the cancel-for-any-reason insurance? That seems like it's admitting defeat.
It's not defeat. It's acknowledging that sometimes the environment wins, and that's okay. A trip isn't worth heat stroke. The insurance just removes the financial sting from a smart decision.
Do you think people actually listen to these warnings?
Some do. But Ward's quote—'They think they can push through. That is a mistake'—that's the real story. Most people learn heat respect the hard way.