‘I took my girlfriend to Paris. I got sunstroke and she ran off with the paramedic who treated me’
Festival switches off showers to save water as UK basks in one of hottest June days in 40 years
GLASTONBURY festival-goers yesterday had to endure record temperatures for the event without a refreshing respite when organisers turned off showers to preserve water.
It came on a day when rails overheated and roads began to melt as the heat took its toll on the nation’s transport infrastructure.
Speed restrictions were introduced on the train network to prevent rails buckling as temperatures rose.
As the afternoon wore on, the Met Office announced: “Both Northolt and Heathrow have reached 34C [93F] today, not only making it the hottest day of the year but one of the warmest June days for the UK in around 40 years.”
As temperatures at Glastonbury’s Somerset site rose to 88F (31C), revellers found themselves without showers at two of the festival’s main facilities. One of the glamping sites, Love the Fields, said that showers had been closed temporarily to conserve water.
Greenpeace, which runs some of the other showers at the Worthy Farm site, said its facilities had been shut temporarily to maintain water pressure.
On-site ambulance control said it had received 27 calls for assistance for heat-related illnesses, with more expected over the rest of the weekend.
Festival officials released a statement to address growing concerns that a water shortage was under way, saying: “There is not a water shortage at this year’s Glastonbury. Our supply is running as normal.
“As always in hot weather, demand for water has increased, so we have put in place the usual restrictions on staff/ guest showers and the limited number of public showers.”
Festival-goer Sara Roberts, 39, said both showers and drinking water had been difficult to find. “There’s barely anything available and there are no facilities where we are staying,” she said.
Signs around the festival urged revellers to keep hydrated, but this year’s ban on single-use plastic means its 200,000 attendees are unable to buy bottled water. Fans with reusable bottles can also keep topped up at refill sites, but campers took to social media on Thursday to bemoan the queues of up to 40 minutes. In response, festival organisers said they were providing free cans of water.
The railways were badly affected by the heat. In Northern Ireland, Translink Rail was forced to cancel services after rails reached temperatures of 120F (49C), while trains had to be stopped from running over a section of track near Carlisle station.
Thameslink and Great Northern also had to slow down trains between Cambridge and Hitchin, and on the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and King’s Cross. There were also speed restrictions in the London area, including between Victoria and Balham, London Bridge and East Croydon and between Stratford and Maryland.
Network Rail said rail tracks absorb the heat, with their temperature typically rising to 20C above the surrounding air temperature, forcing trains to slow down to avoid the danger of rails buckling.
It said: “Rails expand as they get hotter and can start to buckle. Speed restrictions are imposed as slower trains exert lower forces on the track, reducing the chance of buckling.”
Some parts of the country saw roads softening as temperatures shot up.
Gritters were deployed in Cumbria to spread crushed rock dust to create a layer between the surface and vehicles’ tyres, with the AA warning that roads begin to soften at around 80F (27C). In Devon, a post office worker shared a photograph showing a stretch of melted road with tyre impressions in the softened surface.
‘Speed restrictions are imposed as slower trains exert lower forces on the track’
This is the time of year when Britons switch from demanding to know where the sun has gone to complaining that the wretched thing never goes away. Yesterday was one of the warmest June days for about 40 years, which will add fuel to the climate change debate.
Green ideas have consequences, however, as festival goers at Glastonbury found. Banning the sale of single-use plastic bottles to reduce waste is a noble intent – but when the thermometer hit 28 degrees, long queues developed for the taps. Hopefully things won’t get stormy.
Perhaps it’s best to avoid the music festivals and stay in one’s garden, in a deckchair with the radio on and an umbrella just in case. For those praying for a cloud, be patient. The season in which Britain is unbearably hot only lasts a few weeks at most.