Millions of people in Britain stayed home or sought shade on Monday during the country’s first extreme heat warning as the hot, dry weather that has burned continental Europe over the past week moved north, disrupting the travel, health care and schools.
The red heat alert covers much of England and should last until Tuesday, when temperatures may reach 40 degrees Celsius for the first time, with a risk of serious illness and even death among healthy people , according to the Met Office, the British weather service. .
The highest temperature ever recorded in Britain is 38.7 ºC, a record set in 2019.
A police officer gives water to a British soldier wearing a traditional bear-skin hat, on guard in front of Buckingham Palace during London’s extreme heat wave. (AP)
The country is not at all prepared to withstand this heat: most homes, schools and small businesses in Britain have no air conditioning.
London’s Kew Gardens hit 37.5 degrees Celsius at 3pm on Monday (midnight AEST) and Wales provisionally recorded the highest temperature in history, the Met Office said, 35.3 degrees centigrade in Gogerddan, on the west coast.
At least four people were reported to have drowned across the UK in rivers, lakes and reservoirs while trying to cool off.
A couple sunbathing on Blyth Beach, Northumberland, on the north east coast of England. (AP)
The UK airport is suspending flights amid reports of “smelted” runway.
One of the UK’s largest airports on Monday suspended flights amid reports of “melted” runways.
London Luton Airport announced via Twitter that it will close operations on Monday because “a surface defect on the runway was identified” after high temperatures.
“Engineers were immediately called to the site and repair work is underway to resume operations as soon as possible,” the airport said, before reopening a few hours later.
The announcement came hours after the Royal Air Force (RAF) stopped all flights to and from Brize Norton, its largest air base, in Oxfordshire after a Sky News report suggested the runway had “font”.
Both Network Rail and Transport for London advised passengers not to travel on Monday and Tuesday unless “essential journeys” are made due to the hot weather. Train speed restrictions have also been introduced to protect railway tracks.
UK beaches full of people while battling extreme heat
Britain could surpass 41C for the first time
Although Monday saw record highs in the south-east of England, temperatures were expected to rise even further as warm air moved north on Tuesday, said Penelope Endersby, director general of the Met Office.
The extreme heat warning extends from London in the south to Manchester and Leeds in the north.
“So it’s tomorrow when we’re really seeing the highest probability of 40 degrees and temperatures above that,” Endersby told the BBC on Monday.
“Forty-one isn’t off the charts. We even have about 43 on the model, but hopefully it’s not that high.”
A man runs past an ice cream sign on the south bank of the River Thames in London, (AP) A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from the sun in arid Greenwich Park, south-east London. (AP)
Forest fires wreak havoc in southern Europe
The hot weather has gripped southern Europe since last week, causing forest fires in Spain, Portugal and France. Nearly 600 heat-related deaths have been reported in Spain and Portugal, where temperatures reached 47ºC last week.
Climate experts warn that global warming has increased the frequency of extreme weather events, with studies showing that temperatures in the UK reach 40ºC are now 10 times higher than in the pre-industrial era. Drought and heat waves linked to climate change have also made forest fires more difficult to fight.
Officials in the Gironde region of southern France have announced plans to evacuate 3,500 more people from the cities threatened by the flames. More than 1,500 firefighters and water bombers are trying to put out the flames in the region’s dry pine forests.
Swimmers take to the sea at Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, England. (Getty) Swimmers enjoy an early morning swim in the cool water of Jesus Green lido as temperatures begin to rise in Cambridge, England. (Getty)
Travel warning amid the fear of deformed railings
In Britain, train operators asked customers not to travel unless absolutely necessary, saying heat was likely to deform the rails and disrupt power supplies, causing severe delays.
Some routes operated at reduced speed or closed completely from mid-afternoon, when temperatures were expected to peak.
Some medical appointments were canceled to relieve tensions in the health service. Some schools closed and others installed children’s pools and water spray to help children cool off.
A woman holds an umbrella to protect herself from the sun as she walks along the south bank of the River Thames in London. (AP)
Most British schools have not yet closed for the summer.
The extreme heat even led Parliament to loosen its strict dress code. The Speaker of the House of Commons said male lawmakers could do without jackets and ties during the week.
High temperatures are even more shocking, as Britain usually has very moderate summer temperatures. Across the UK, average July temperatures range from daily highs of 21 ° C to lows of 12 ° C.
But Monday night’s fall will bring little relief from the heat, as the meteorological office predicts temperatures of 29 ºC at midnight in London. Monday night will be “very oppressive” and it will be difficult to sleep, chief meteorologist Paul Davies said.
A polar bear at Doncaster’s Yorkshire Wildlife Park stays cool on a lake. (AP)
“Tomorrow is the day when we are really concerned about a good chance now of reaching 40 or 41 ºC, and with it all the health conditions that come with these higher temperatures,” he said.