Two hot days close down public services, leaving the rest of us to get on with life the best we can
SIR – It is amazing that this two-day heatwave is so powerful that sectors of the country are forced to shut down. Even more amazing is that the heatwave is so clever that it can direct its major impact on those paid by the public – teachers, GPS, railway workers and the NHS, all having to shelter at home while the rest of us get on with it. Les Moore
Great Harwood, Lancashire
SIR – Will the RMT and Aslef be issuing guidance to let their customers know whether trains aren’t running because of strikes or because of the heatwave? Trevor Joyce
Canterbury, Kent
SIR – At 6.17pm on Sunday, I received a text from my son’s school informing me that it would close at noon in the impending heatwave. This meant that my son would have to leave a building that might (or might not) have air conditioning and go back to a house that certainly does not.
My wife and I work full-time. We have no permission to stop working. What were we supposed to do? Ralph Anderson
Stadhampton, Oxfordshire
SIR – For goodness’ sake can we have less hysteria? It’s only happening for two days.
Simon Morpuss Stratford-upon-avon, Warwickshire
SIR – It seems extraordinary that, when at least half of the population travel to very hot climates for their holidays, the authorities seem to panic in giving directions on how to cope. Most sensible people will stay indoors, keep hydrated and wait for it to pass. Elderly people should be checked on, but it does smack of a nanny-state mentality. Jenny Austen
Great Dunmow, Essex
SIR – Amid continual expressions of concern for the elderly and vulnerable, why are some GP surgeries closing? Carol A Forshaw
Bolton, Lancashire
SIR – I finished reading my Telegraph yesterday at about 8.30am. At 8.45 I phoned a company to place an order for my wife. I was told: “Sorry, because of the extreme heat our system is down. Could you please call this afternoon?” Kirsty Brookes (Letters, July 18) was right: heat has replaced Covid as an excuse.
During my 20-odd years in the Royal Navy I served in the Far East, Aden, Malta and Australia. We always seemed to manage in the heat.
Derrick G Smith
Bexhill-on-sea, East Sussex
SIR – Covid? Work from home. Train strikes? WFH. Wet weather warnings? WFH. Hot weather warnings? WFH.
WTF is going on?
Nick Smith
London SW6
SIR – Yesterday morning, the BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay was dispatched to Cambridge to warn us about the apocalyptic conditions we were to face.
Watching the programme at home, we were enjoying our cuppa in a pleasant 23C, with light cloud. Since then the dog has been walked and two loads of washing put on the line. The bed linen has been changed and we’re about to have our coffee in the garden.
The Met Office is 10 minutes’ drive from our house. Why on earth does it feel it is necessary to warn the entire country to take precautions against a threat that really isn’t that grave? Angela White
Exeter, Devon
SIR – The temperature in our sitting room hasn’t fallen below 29C for two weeks, and won’t until September. No one issues dire health warnings here; we use our common sense.
Jane Eyles
Mahon, Menorca
SIR – Anyone struggling to keep cool might find relief in a nearby church. There are thousands across the country, entry is free and if ours is anything to go by, complaints about the temperature never relate to excessive heat.
Catriona Chase
Cookley, Suffolk