It was a shock when Michael Mosley, a doctor and well-known TV presenter in the UK, was found dead earlier this month after hiking in scorching temperatures on the Greek island of Symi. But it is now one of a series of tourist deaths and disappearances in Greece as the country endures a powerful, early summer heat wave with temperatures pushing above 40 degrees Celsius . On Saturday, a Dutch tourist was found dead on the island of Samos.
It gets harder to make complex decisions, such as which path to take on a hike — a decision that sounds simple but requires weighing multiple different factors. There’s also evidence to suggest people are more likely to make risky decisions and engage in impulsive behavior when they’re exposed to heat, she added. An altered perception of risk coupled with impaired cognitive function can have very serious consequences.