LIFE’S A BEACH...FOR SOME!
THE heatwave shows no sign of letting up after the highest temperature of the year was recorded yesterday – with the mercury forecast to hit a scorching 91F (33C) by tomorrow.
Temperatures rocketed to 86.4F at Hawarden airport in Flintshire, north Wales, yesterday, breaking the record of 84.9F set in St James’s Park, London, on Monday.
Parts of the UK are currently hotter than Athens and on a par with Kuala Lumpur and Rio de Janeiro while the roasting temperatures are causing some roads to melt.
In England, the hottest spot yesterday was Rostherne, Cheshire, with a temperature of 86F. Aviemore recorded Scotland’s peak with 78F while Castlederg in County Tyrone was Northern Ireland’s high point, with 80F.
The glorious sunshine meant that beaches around Britain yesterday were packed, such as Bournemouth.
Today is expected to be another hot day with plenty of sunshine, but it may be cooler around the coast.
Roasting
A high of 91F is possible tomorrow, according to the Met Office – well above the 63F UK average for this time of year – and the fine, hot weather looks set to continue into July.
Forecaster Mark Foster said: “Generally, it looks like it will stay drier and warmer than average.
“Long days, very still conditions and clear skies help June temperatures to get very intense. The sun in June is the highest it gets in the sky and heat can build up over successive days.”
If the temperatures continue to rise, the UK could be set for one of the hottest months ever recorded in the UK.
However, it is not good news for hay fever sufferers who are already struggling in the heat.
And the roasting temperatures have caused travel chaos too.
Commuters yesterday faced misery as Network Rail imposed speed restrictions because of the risk of tracks buckling while roads melted in the heat.
The southbound M5 at Weston-superMare, Somerset, closed when the newly resurfaced road failed to set. And in Conwy, north Wales, a section of the A543 was closed when the surface melted.
Hot and bothered patients in Essex also slammed a health centre’s decision to shut off a water fountain amid health and safety fears that people could slip on spillages. The move, at Canvey Primary Care Centre, was branded “health and safety gone mad” by Independent councillor Janice Payne.
She added: “If they have had spillages, they should put a sign up that says there is a risk of wet floors.”
But a spokesman for the centre said: “Drinking water will always be available. Visitors can request this from reception.”
The scorching weather also turned a lake in Didcot, Oxfordshire, into “fish soup”. The Environment Agency urged people to report lakes turning green after dead fish were seen on the surface.
Agency officers visiting the site yesterday said the heat had caused a rapid increase in algae in the lake, which then suffocated the fish – a phenomenon known as an “algal bloom”.
While the heatwave will continue to the weekend, particularly in the South and West, it will begin to get breezier on Saturday.