Resort Climates

For a long time, many Europeans have placed much faith in the curative and restorative powers of clean air, sunshine, and pleasant weather. A 1964 report of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva used phrases such as "climatic treatment" and "specific climatic therapy." It has been alleged that blood circulation, respiration, and skin condition are made health by exposure to favorable weather. These notions have resulted in the establishment of many health resorts in mountainous and southern-coastal areas. Baths in warm, sulfur-laden waters of certain natural springs are often part of the treatment. The benefit of the redolent waters and the air that surrounds them is debatable, but a week or two in a climatically optimal resort may send a city dweller home with a healthier mind and body. European climatologists have given a great deal of study to the most appropriate attributes of resort areas. To a certain extent, these depend on the purpose of the resort and the conditions of the people it seeks to attract. Generally, anyone seeking a pleasant period of recuperation from an illness is advised to avoid the following conditions: intense heat, particularly if accompanied by high humidity; polluted air, especially if the patient has had some kind of respiratory illness; highly changeable weather with frequent passages of fronts and cyclones; and excessively high elevations, where the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere may be too low. Sanatorium should be far enough from cities and industries to assure low concentrations of gaseous and particulate pollutants Local vegetation should be of varieties that produce little pollen. The clean, brisk air often found at moderately high elevations on the lee of a ridge or along a sea coast dominated by light sea breezes is recommended for summer resorts. On mountains or hilly terrain, spas are sometimes located in forest glades, where they are protected from strong winds by tall trees. Sunshine is considered therapeutic in many parts of the world. The World Meteorological Organization report, cited earlier, discusses the value of solar ultraviolet radiation in "hydrotherapy." These rays arc "used for their effects on skin cell metabolism, formation of substances such as vitamin I and detoxification processes." Hydrotherapy calls for long periods of exposure to the sun. Today, in the United States and a number of other countries, it is recognized that the risk of skin cancer through excessive exposure to sunlight exceeds the benefits of such exposure. In the Western Hemisphere, there is relatively little stress on health resorts, but a great many people migrate to the sunny south lands in winter.