Disruption as UK swelters in heat
TRAIN services have been cut, schools closed and ambulance crews are braced for a rise in 999 calls as temperatures soar into the 30Cs in the heatwave.
Temperatures had risen to 37.5C in Kew Gardens, west London, by 3pm yesterday, making it the hottest day of the year, and the mercury topped 37C in a number of other places.
The Met Office was forecasting temperatures could climb to 38C or even a record-breaking 39C on Monday.
Wales provisionally recorded its hottest day on record, with the temperature reaching 35.3C in Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth, beating the previous record for the country which has been in place since 1990.
Today is predicted to be even hotter, with temperatures possibly reaching a “crazy” 41C in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
The existing UK record, of 38.7C, recorded in Cambridge in 2019, looks certain to fall amid the sweltering heat.
Met Office meteorologist Luke Miall said: “For a good part of eastern Wales, and England and southern Scotland, we’re looking at the 30s if not the high 30s.” He added that London could see temperatures hit 40C.
He said: “I’ve been a qualified meteorologist for 10 years, and telling people about 41C in the UK doesn’t seem real.
“It’s crazy how we are talking about these sorts of values, I’ve never seen the models coming up with these values. It’s been quite an eye-opener to climate change with all these temperatures in the UK.”
Zoos across the UK have taken extra precautions to keep their animals cool amid the soaring temperatures, with some offering icy treats and others, such as Chester Zoo, shutting their gates to the public.