GIMME SHELTER!
BRITONS sweltered in the hottest June day since 1976 yesterday – as temperatures hit 94F (34.5C).
Roads melted and some schools sent children home for the day as heatrelated casualties caused a drain on emergency crews.
At Glastonbury, scorching conditions meant dozens of revellers had to be treated for problems caused by the weather within hours of the site opening at 7am yesterday.
The 41-year peak was recorded at Heathrow at 4pm and comes as parts of Britain have had five consecutive days of temperatures above 86F (30C).
It is the highest for the month since the 96F (35.6C) recorded in Southampton on June 28, 1976. And it’s the hottest prolonged spell since that drought summer – when James Callaghan was Prime Minister and You to Me are Everything by The Real Thing topped the singles charts.
To top it off, yesterday was also the second hottest June day since records began 167 years ago.
There was a different story in the North, where thunderstorms and downpours brought a soggy end to the heatwave with floods in some places – and the South can expect a similar drenching today. The downpours, accompanied by lightning, large hailstones and strong gusts are expected to cross the country sending temperatures plummeting by around 11C over the next couple of days.
Rainfall could also lead to flooding and temporary power blackouts. Steve Willington, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘The high pressure that has dominated our weather of late is starting to move away, allowing fresher air in from the west.
‘A cold front that will pass through the UK will mark an end to the hot spell of weather in the south and bring cloudier skies and lower temperatures.’
The sweltering temperatures resulted in ‘unprecedented demand’ for ambulances in the capital – with some patients enduring four-hour long waits, London Ambulance Service said.
Call handlers answered 6,613 emergency calls on Monday compared with 4,695 the week before - a 41 per cent increase. Many 999 calls were about sunburn and allergies from high pollen counts.
For the first time in its history, Royal Ascot let racegoers remove their jackets due to ‘very hot’ conditions. Donkey rides were suspended for the first time at Porthcawl, South Wales. Andover Church of England Primary School, Hampshire, closed its doors at 11.30am when temperatures in the classrooms topped 86F (30C) and there was insufficient shade to teach outside.
But Ann Evans, 43, whose 11year-old son attends the 200-pupil school, said: ‘It is utterly stupid. This is not real life. Because it is hot, you cannot stop work. It is not teaching the kids any values at all.’ Sinkholes appeared in roads across the country – with tarmac melting in Surrey, Cambridge, Manchester and Lancashire.
Despite the rocketing temperatures, some commuters even said trains and bus services had the heating on.
Two London Midland services were cancelled because ‘the driver was too hot’. Passengers were told ‘It’s over 100 degrees in the cabin, the driver needs a break’.
A spokesman for the operator said that temperatures reached up to 113F (45C) in the driver’s cab. ‘From a safety point of view, we need to give the driver a break, you can’t work in those conditions,’ the spokesman said.
Other trains were forced to go slow to prevent rails from buckling in the heat. Greater Anglia Trains cancelled 27 of its services between London and Essex because of speed restrictions. At Glastonbury, the usual dress code involves wellies and waterproofs.
Yesterday, it was bikinis and flip flops – as the festival recorded its hottest day in history.
Many arrived at first light having driven through the night, only to be met with queues more than half a mile long and heightened security checks. Thousands of revellers laden with tents and heavy bags were forced to stand for up to four hours in open fields as they waited to enter the 900acre site in Somerset.
Medical staff and stewards told music fans to make sure they had hats and water before entering the back of the queue. As the mercury hit 88F (31C) at Worthy Farm, South Western Ambulance Service said at least 38 people had been treated by paramedics by 2.30pm alone, with the number expected to rise into triple figures. Those who could find a shady spot did so, but many had no choice but to stand in the baking sun.
Seasoned attendees said they had ‘never seen’ anything like it.
Yesterday’s scenes were a far cry from last year’s festival, which was deemed the muddiest ever. Parts of the site are usually a quagmire by the first day. The soaring temperature in Somerset easily beats the festival records of 81F (27.3C) in 2010 and 1989. In those years, thousands of revellers fell victim to heat stroke and exhaustion.
The record-breaking summer of 1976 saw nine weeks of blazing heat. Between June and August, blue skies were a daily occurrence and, for two weeks, temperatures were 90F (32C) or above consistently. Debate raged over whether air conditioning, then a rarity in most factories and offices, should be widely installed.
As Britain swelters on hottest June day for 41 years, Glasto fans struggle to keep their cool