EXTRA TIME

Red Heat Warning for England

^{Britain is hit by its first-ever blast of 40C heat. The Times reports that the UK record for the highest temperature, 38.7C recorded in Cambridge in 2019, is likely to be broken according to forecasters. A national emergency has been declared and the Met Office has issued its first red extreme heat warning across a large part of England. The highest temperature forecasted for Austria this week is 36C (Wednesday), but temperatures of 41C could be reached by Sunday, 31 July, two-weeks-forecasts say.}

^{Nikos Christidis, a Met Office scientist, said: “The chances of seeing 40C days in the UK could be as much as ten times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.”}

^{Health chiefs have warned the “ferocious heat” predicted to hit the UK in the coming days will kill people. “This is serious heat that could actually, ultimately, end in people’s deaths because it is so ferocious. We’re just not set up for that sort of heat in this country.”}

^{Pet owners have been warned to keep their animals safe by giving them access to plenty of water and somewhere cool out of the heat. Older and overweight pets, as well as animals with flat faces, such as French bulldogs and rabbits, are particularly at risk of heatstroke.}

^{A reduced service will be in operation on the Tube, with Transport for London asking passengers to make only essential journeys. Only 40 per cent of Tube trains have air conditioning.}

^{Disruption will extend past the hottest parts of each day as steel railway lines can heat up to 20C more than the air temperature, which risks tracks buckling. The rail network is engineered to cope with maximum temperatures of about 30C. A blanket speed limit is imposed at 35C, with localised restrictions at 30C.}

^{Britain’s court system, which has a backlog of cases, will stay open despite the heat. HM Courts & Tribunals Service has issued guidance to staff with suggestions of how to keep buildings cool, which includes moving desks away from direct sunlight and open windows. HMCTS said it would continue to monitor the situation and may later strengthen the guidance. “We are doing everything within our control to maintain comfortable levels of cooling within the buildings on our estate,” it said.}

^{Heatwaves could last throughout summer. Mainland Europe is also affected, with Spain recording temperatures as high as 37C by 7am last week. Parts of Spain and Portugal saw temperatures above 45C last week.}

^{While heatwaves have always occurred in Britain — 1976 is an obvious example — climate scientists are confident that global warming is making them more extreme and more frequent.}

^{Professor Hannah Cloke, natural hazards lecturer at the University of Reading, said: “This is a wake-up call for climate change.”}

July 18, 2022 at 1:55 am 2 comments