Sweltering Scotland ‘to be hotter than Sicily’
‘Temperatures could get up to 30C’
TEMPERATURES are set to rise as high as 30C (86F) in Scotland today as the country swelters in the second summer heatwave.
Families will flock to parks and beaches as most places enjoy sunny and dry conditions.
If the mercury reaches 30C it will be hotter than Palermo in Sicily, which is expected to hit 29C (84F) today. The latest scorcher comes after temperatures yesterday rose to 29.7 (85F) at Dyce, Aberdeen.
Train services in the Central Belt, East Coast and towards the Highlands were disrupted by speed limits brought in as a result of ‘high track temperatures’.
Explaining why the restrictions were brought in, Network Rail said: ‘Doing this reduces the forces exerted on the track by trains. In direct sunlight, steel rails can be up to 20C [68F] hotter than the local air temperatures, causing them to expand in the heat – which means they could curve or buckle.’
Similar conditions are expected today. Met Office meteorologist Ellie Wilson said: ‘For most of Scotland, Friday will be a dry and sunny day. Temperatures could get up to 29C [84F] or even 30C [86F]. In the far North-West there could be a little bit of cloud and there could be some mist and sea fog in the East.
‘Overnight temperatures could even be up to 15C [59F] in the South. Again, the West will get the best of the sun on Saturday, with temperatures getting up to 27C [81F].
‘Things look a bit more unsettled on Sunday, with an area of lower pressure coming in from the south. We are expecting this to bring some showers but there’s uncertainty over when the rain will arrive at the moment.
‘There will be unsettled weather next week as well, possibly lasting until Thursday.’
South of the Border, temperatures are set to climb as high as 36C (97F) over the weekend in areas covered by an amber warning for extreme heat, issued by the Met Office.
Drought is also expected to be declared for some parts of England, as Britain faces its longest dry spell since 1976.
The National Drought Group – made up of government and agency officials, water companies and other groups such as the National Farmers’ Union – is set to meet today to discuss the prolonged dry weather.
There are expectations drought could be declared for the most affected areas of the South and East of England.
The dry conditions, combined with last month’s record-breaking heatwave, have depleted rivers, reservoirs and aquifers and dried soil, hitting agriculture, water supplies and wildlife, and raising the risk of wildfires.
Declaring drought will see the Environment Agency and water companies implementing more of their plans to manage the impact of low water levels, which can include hosepipe bans.
Four water companies in England and Wales have already brought in hosepipe bans or have signalled their intention to do so. A ban comes into force today for households in Kent and Sussex, as water firms struggle to maintain supplies.
Southern Water has implemented a ban in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Thames Water, which supplies 15million customers in London and the Thames Valley, has said it will bring in one within weeks.
A heat health alert is also in place from the UK Health Security Agency, with experts advising people to look out for children, the elderly and people with health conditions. The Met Office said there could be a ‘thundery breakdown’ to the hot weather on Monday, although it is uncertain which areas could see rain.
The heatwave follows months of low rainfall that has left the countryside, parks and gardens parched and at risk of wildfire.
Conservationists are calling for an England-wide ban on hosepipes to protect struggling wildfuels life and rivers that are exceptionally low. Climate change is making heatwaves more intense, frequent and likely, with last month’s record temperatures made at least ten times more probable because of global warming and ‘virtually impossible’ without it, research shows.
Scientists also warn the likelihood of full-blown droughts is increasing due to climate change, which is driven by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil and other human activities. Experts at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), the professional body for those working in the sector, say the UK must become more resilient to the changing climate.
IEMA deputy chief executive Martin Baxter said: ‘We have to become more resilient to hotter, drier summers, which we are now experiencing due to climate change and which will over time become more frequent.
‘We have to reduce the leakage in our water systems.
‘Losing three billion litres per day is unacceptable when an average household uses just 142 litres per day. We must help people use less water by, for example, having showers rather than baths, not using a hosepipe, planting drought-resilient plants and installing water meters in homes.’
There also need to be better natural storage solutions for water to conserve every drop, Mr Baxter added.
‘Have showers rather than baths’