Remember when we didn’t have weather apps, just iffy weather channels? Life was simpler, and the climate wasn’t collapsing at an apocalyptic rate. Now the planet seems to be on life support. From climate-induced catastrophes to manmade disasters, it is no wonder that people are thinking twice about their travel decisions. Those who still choose to travel are taking measures for a safe vacation. To quote a popular song, “Heat Waves been carrying me out!!”

Regions like the Caribbean rely on travel to sustain a huge portion of their economy. The World Meteorological Organization reports that the sea levels are rising 10 percent faster than the global average in these places. Southwestern US states like Arizona, Nevada, and California are seeing record heat, and people are limiting outdoor activities. The colder regions aren’t immune to the climate crisis. The Alps take in 120 million tourists annually, but rising global temperatures now threaten winter sports because of the 8.4 percent reduction in snow cover per decade over the last 50 years. The 2024 Paris Olympics also endured a severe heat surge, which caused complications for the athletes. The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, said that the climate crisis is impacting sports events, which support tourism.

I went to Berlin in May 2023 to visit my brother and his family. The weather was gorgeous. Thankfully, I visited before July, which ended up being one of the warmest months in recent years. The heat surge affected highly coveted travel destinations in Southern Europe, the United States, and China. Top travel spots were closed off, wildfires raged in parts of Europe, and hospitals were overwhelmed with heat-related cases. Friederike Otto, a scientist at the Grantham Institute of Climate Change, described the 2023 global heatwave. “The events we have looked at are not rare in today’s climate. It’s not surprising from a climatological point of view that these events are happening at the same time.”

Even in Canada, we had our fair share of scorching sun. The Middle East and North African destinations like Dubai and Marrakech weren’t far behind in breaking heat records. The culprit here? Rising greenhouse gas concentrations, as explained by the World Weather Attribution team. According to them, similar, prolonged, and extreme heatwaves will probably occur every two to five years because of global warming.

If you’ve been dreaming of summer travel plans to hot, sandy beaches, think again. The right time of the year makes all the difference, which means summer may be headed for a demotion as the popular season for travel, replaced by temperate seasons.

A trade body report reveals that tourists are now concerned about traveling between June and November. This means hello, cold-weather summer destinations! Places like Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, and, of course, Canada (I didn’t say I wasn’t biased) are dreamy destinations for travel. These cooler (no pun intended) countries are now attracting new tourists from around the globe. Canada’s famed Whistler Blackcomb mountain resort has pivoted to summer tourism and now earns more revenue in warmer months.

But colder countries aren’t immune, and many mountain regions also suffer because of climate change. For example, higher temperatures cause melting glaciers, changes in seasons, and precipitation. Colder countries need to strike while the iron is cold. They can change the travel landscape by investing in diverse travel experiences, improving ski slopes, introducing more spas, and other similar initiatives.

Tourism has changed, and the travel industry has to keep up fast! The good news is that industry leaders are responding with innovative solutions. Global efforts like the Glasgow Declaration aim to halve emissions by 2030. Hawaii and Wales are using hotel taxes and special funds to support local businesses in adapting. Indonesia is even planning to make its tourism fully carbon-neutral in the future. These are some promising and uplifting plans for sure!

Tour operators, from the Great Barrier Reef to ski resorts, are getting involved by educating visitors and speaking up for stronger climate policies. And travelers are adjusting too, skipping peak summer trips, avoiding heat waves, and enduring cancellations due to extreme weather. It’s a big shift for sure. I don’t think there’s a win–win situation here, but we need to do our part, starting with awareness and action around global warming and travel.

The irony is that the tourism industry creates around a tenth of the gas emissions responsible for this dire climate crisis, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. The UN World Tourism Organization predicts that greenhouse gas emissions from tourism are set to rise by 25 percent between 2016 and 2030.

While the world refuses to stop burning fossil fuels, we can only expect that these climatic anomalies will become common and fierce. Travel is already slowly adapting, and the sustainability movement is growing. We need to step up, too.

It boils down to empathy. We are accountable for how we inhabit the planet, from the food we eat to the waste we dispose of to the businesses we support, the kind of travel we experience, and, most importantly, the kind of planet we want to leave behind. Will the future generations remember us as greedy, life-sucking creatures who turned everything to stone? Or will they thrive on a planet where the trees and oceans tell stories of kindness?

So, while you do a double-take on your travel choices this year, here’s my top list of places I want to visit, in summer obviously: Banff, Iceland, Alaska… What are yours?