A Dublin Councillor and his family left a holiday in France early because the heat became “pretty terrifying”. 

Conor Dowling of the Green Party and his wife booked a holiday in Brittany at the beginning of January, assuming it would be a pleasant time of year to visit northern France. 

The couple have a seven month old baby, as well as a two-year-old and a five-year-old.  

“We looked at a sort of a stone cottage,” Cllr Dowling told Moncrieff.  

“It should have been ideal; most of the houses there don't have air conditioning or anything like that because that's not the expected climate - we got a bit of a rude awakening.” 

With a swimming pool, slides, playground and trampoline, the family assumed it would be an ideal set up for children. 

However, while they arrived in chilly conditions, the temperature quickly surged to an unbearable level.  

“My wife [had] her jacket on [when we arrived],” he recalled. 

“Then two days later, 40; the next day, 41. 

“This hit within 48 hours. Everything changed.” 

Soon, the pool had turned a murky green colour where they could not even see their own hands in it. 

Concerningly as well, local shops sold out of the small number of fans they had in stock. 

“We were told probably best not to go swimming anymore and that was the only reprieve we were really getting,” he said. 

“So, after that, it was just get the kids in the bath, try and keep cool. 

“It was pretty terrifying.”

After three days in the extreme heat, the family decided they had had enough and booked an early ferry back to Dublin. 

“We really were getting quite scared,” Cllr Dowling said. 

“The baby, he was our main priority and he was going quite red in the face.

“Couldn't cool him down; would put him in the bath - but as soon as you take him out, he's almost back to square one again.”

While he admits it was “not easy to turn away from a holiday”, Cllr Dowling feels it was the right decision for his family. 

“But honestly, the dry nappies was the most scary thing,” he said. 

“At that stage, you're like, ‘Yeah, I don't care, just get us out of here.’”

The United Nations has warned that extreme heat is to become increasingly common across the world due to climate change.

Main image: Conor Dowling.