HEAT IS ON: LONDON BASKS IN A SCORCHER
Summer splash: swim instructor Sarah Broder cools off at Beckenham Place Park today, with temperatures set to hit 37C
LONDONERS sought the cool of open water to escape the city heat as temperatures soared at the start of an “exceptional” August heatwave.
The Met Office said the mercury was set to peak at 35C to 37C in London and the South-East this afternoon with a “small chance” of hitting 38C, surpassing last Friday’s 37.8C year high. The heat will only slowly ease this evening with the August night-time minimum record of 23.9C also under threat.
Up to 150 swimmers plunged into the Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park from 7am, with whole families taking a dip. Swimmer Jessica Stone said: “This place is a gem. On one of the hottest days of the year it’s the perfect start to the day.”
Another said: “I haven’t seen it this busy for a long time — it’s getting a bit fast and furious in the water. But everyone is having fun. You have to make the most of it. In Regent’s Park, sunbathers staked their claim to a shady spot early on. Josh Taylor said: “I live in a shared flat in Camden and felt a bit cooped up in lockdown. Although the weather was good then everything was shut and it was a bit strange. This feels really liberating.”
Meanwhile, commuters on busy Tubes in the main managed to keep their masks on despite the heat. Transport for London said it was a mandatory requirement that face masks must always be worn on public transport. Ilan Kelman, professor of disasters and health at University College London, said without stopping climate change such levels of summer heat would be regular events.