After sweating through the “warmest night on record,” Britain is preparing for the hottest day on record with temperatures expected to hit 43C (109F) today.
This will force hospitals to reschedule operations, threaten power outages, and cause even more transport mayhem.
The current temperature record of 38.7C (101.6F) is expected to be smashed today as the mercury is predicted to soar to a scorching 43C (109F).
Additionally, a “severe heat” amber weather warning has been issued for eastern, southern, and central Scotland.
This warning is in effect through Tuesday at midnight.
The NHS is under additional stress as a result of the rising temperatures, with planned procedures now needing to be “scaled back” because operating rooms are “becoming too hot”—a measure that was last put in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to an increase in emergency calls from ambulance trusts as a result of the extreme heat in the UK, A&E facilities all around the country are at capacity.
To relieve pressure on the NHS and prevent a backlog of patients with heat-related ailments in emergency rooms, health officials are now advising Britons to “frequently put on suncream.”
‘Hot weather spells heighten pressure on the NHS, raising demand for urgent and emergency care and causing interruption to some planned care,’ said Miriam Deakin, temporary deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts.
Children, older persons, and those with underlying diseases are typically the most vulnerable.
Although further measures have been taken to boost ambulance capacity, ambulance trusts will still be under a lot of pressure as more 999 calls are anticipated.
The NHS estate was not designed to withstand severe storms.
We’ve heard over the last 48 hours that certain trusts are being forced to reduce the number of planned procedures because the operating rooms are becoming too hot.
Given the escalating COVID-19 infection and the need to alleviate the care backlogs that have accumulated due to the pandemic, “all of this adds up to a major problem for trusts.”
We’re seeing a spike in calls, and the additional resource we’ve put in place is to handle that, said Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who was present at the Cobra heatwave meeting last week.
The projected heatwave’s peak will really occur tomorrow afternoon, thus there is a temporal lag in the statistics as well. Therefore, that is the area of greatest worry, but we are getting more calls.
The railway network is anticipated to remain chaotic today, with more delays and cancellations for Britons.
The RAC has additionally cautioned drivers who could be making the commute to work that there may be a fifth more breakdown on Monday and Tuesday than usual.
It comes after Brits endured the “warmest night on record,” with the temperature in London reaching 29°C (84°F) at midnight and Southampton reaching 24°C (75F).
The temperature in Dover, Kent, stayed a few degrees lower and rose to 21C (70F) in the early morning, while Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, reached 66F (19C) (66F).
Wales saw its warmest day ever on Monday when the mercury soared to 37.1°C in Hawarden, Flintshire, breaking the previous mark for the nation set in 1990 by nearly 2°C.
But according to the Met Office, a burst of cool Atlantic air will move in from the west, bringing relief from the oppressive heat.
With some schools closed and commuters having difficulty getting to work, the scorching heat, which has already claimed more than 1,000 lives on the continent and caused deadly wildfires in some nations, is expected to inflict havoc.
Major wildfires will rip through the countryside tomorrow, according to experts. While the country put on its fans and air conditioning to attempt to stay cool, the National Grid issued a warning requesting more power plants tonight and predicted extremely high demand.
On Monday afternoon, a quick notification was sent to the power plants reminding them to make sure they have enough megawatts available to meet the anticipated increase in demand for electricity this evening.
Amid worries that hospitals will be overloaded, health officials advised patients to avoid going unless it was an emergency, while emergency services advised swimmers to avoid lakes and rivers in case they ran into trouble.
Health minister Steve Barclay stated that the worst is yet to come as emergency services are seeing an increase in 999 calls following a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee.
London Ambulance stated that it was expecting up to 8,000 calls by the end of today.
A ruptured water main in Kingston upon Thames caused havoc, and schools in Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire have closed or may close early. Water providers have also issued shortage warnings.
In the meantime, the Luton Airport runway was shut down for two hours due to a “surface flaw” in the heat today as England and Wales experienced their warmest days of the year as a result of fires breaking out, trains being cancelled, and schools being shuttered. Wales had its hottest day on record.
The country’s first-ever Red Extreme Heat warning was issued by the Met Office, which predicted that temperatures tomorrow might reach 43C, the hottest ever recorded, and result in “thousands” of fatalities.
Today was the third hottest day on record and the hottest day of the year at Santon Downham, Suffolk, where the temperature reached 38.1C.
Today, the temperature reached 31.3C in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, and Leuchars, Fife, while London reached 37.5C (99.5F).
At RAF Brize Norton, flight operations were also suspended because, according to Sky News, a portion of the runway had melted.
Despite dramatic car fires in a Dorset parking lot and an oil tanker catching fire on the M25, wildfires continued to burn today despite weeks of extremely dry weather, extending over fields near Chesterfield in Derbyshire and Lickey Hills Country Park in Birmingham.
Flights at Luton restarted around 5.40 p.m., with arrivals following 15 minutes later, according to both the BBC and the Mirror, while it was stated that the final plane was believed to have taken off at around 3 p.m.
Flights reopened to a crowded terminal, but there were still significant delays because of the previous closure that prevented some aircraft from taking off.
One traveller stated that her flight had been rerouted to Stansted because the “runway has reportedly melted in Luton,” and that she couldn’t wait to “schlep with the kids across counties on the hottest day of the year” because her car was still at Luton.
A other person continued, “Diverted to Stansted, sat waiting to see if they would they fly us or bus us back to Luton.”
A surface fault on the runway was discovered as a result of today’s high temperatures. A Luton representative apologised to passengers, told MailOnline.
In order to resume operations as quickly as feasible, engineers were promptly called to the location. We sincerely apologise for the trouble this has caused.
“During this period of severe temperature flight safety is our top priority, so aircraft are using other airfields in accordance with a well established protocol,” an RAF spokeswoman said regarding RAF Brize Norton. This indicates that RAF operations are unaffected.
The current UK temperature record is almost certainly going to be broken on Tuesday, when temperatures in London and Yorkshire might both reach a “crazy” 40 degrees Celsius.
The Met Office said that Aboyne in Aberdeenshire and Leuchars in Fife had temperatures of 31.3C on Monday afternoon.
The temperature reached its highest point in Aviemore at 29.9C, while the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh recorded 30.8C.
Despite experts’ predictions, temperatures have not yet surpassed Scotland’s 9 August 2003 record of 32.9C at Greyrcrook in the Scottish Borders.
The Met Office in the United Kingdom has issued the nation’s first red extreme heat warning for Monday and Tuesday for much of England.
According to the Met Office, tonight will be hot and uncomfortable and higher than the typical July afternoon.
Northern Ireland experienced its warmest day of the year, with several locations recording temperatures exceeding 30C, such as Derrylin in Co. Fermanagh (31.1C) and Armagh (30.6C).
In County Tyrone’s Castlederg in July of last year, 31.3C (88.3F) was the highest temperature ever recorded in Northern Ireland.
A yellow weather alert has been issued for the Republic of Ireland following the Phoenix Park temperature on Monday surpassing the previous record of 32.3C set on July 19, 2006 in Elphin, Co. Roscommon.
“This is only 0.3C behind the all-time record set at Kilkenny Castle in 1887, which has stood for 135 years,” noted Met Eireann. The temperature could yet increase.
Rail lines in London’s Vauxhall buckled elsewhere due to the heat, leading to a safety examination on the line that disrupted service between Waterloo and Clapham Junction.
Additionally, service between Cambridge and Kings Lynn was halted due to a buckled rail at Watlington in Norfolk, according to operator Great Northern.
Additionally, all flights into and out of Oxfordshire’s RAF Brize Norton were grounded because, according to a military source, the runway “had melted.”
In Buckinghamshire, 53 schools have shut down and switched to remote instruction.
In other news, sports day has been cancelled at Northwood Community Primary School in Kirkby, Merseyside, while all on-site detentions have been cancelled for today and tomorrow at Worcestershire’s King Charles I School.
The Met Office also issues a warning, stating that Tuesday’s low 20s, and possibly mid 20s in a few isolated locations, are expected to be the warmest night on record in the UK.
“I’ve been a qualified meteorologist for 10 years, and telling people about 41C in the UK doesn’t seem genuine,” said Luke Miall of the Met Office.
I’ve never seen the models generate these kinds of figures, so it’s crazy how we’re talking about them.
With all these temperatures in the UK, “climate change has really opened my eyes.”
The maximum temperatures we anticipate tomorrow will be further north as that warm air pushes north, Professor Endersby said this morning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“We think today we may well have the warmest day in the UK in history,” he said.
“We actually have a better possibility of 40C and above temps tomorrow,” said the forecaster. 41C is not out of the question, even conceivably above that.
Even though we’ve included some 43Cs in the model, we’re hoping it won’t be that high.
The Met Office’s chief executive, Penny Endersby, stated: “The high heat we are currently anticipating is truly unprecedented.”
Please take these warnings carefully and heed the advise, just as you would if we had issued a red or amber wind or snow warning.
Due to a lack of air conditioning, one Hertfordshire GP office was forced to close today; other London GP offices texted patients to alert them to the limited number of clinic rooms available; and Milton Keynes University Hospital announced that it would be “standing down routine outpatient appointments and surgery” today and tomorrow.
An air conditioning machine malfunctioned during a murder trial in London, forcing the judge to delay the case and transfer it to the Old Bailey, claiming he had “no choice.”
The air conditioning system at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital in Cardiff collapsed during a heat wave, leaving the oncology ward without it.
Engineers are trying to repair the problem that is harming the chemotherapy area, but according to health officials, if they are unable, patients will be transferred to another ward so they can stay cool.
In the meantime, Royal Mail issued a warning about delivery delays, stating today: “Our personnel have been asked to return to the office with any mail they have been unable to deliver and not put themselves at any risk of falling unwell owing to the excessive heat.”
To safeguard the soldiers, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace was toned back.
To avoid exposing the Queen’s Guard to the midday sun for an excessive amount of time, the marching and ceremonial parade was cut short.
However, Guardsmen were still compelled to march outside the Palace while standing at attention in their full uniforms and Canadian bearskins.
Additionally, a standing guard who was receiving water while standing in the bright sun was observed.
This morning, portions of London were already experiencing rail mayhem as health officials declared a “national emergency.”
The Overground was suspended between Willesden Junction and Richmond as well as between Romford and Upminster.
The Hammersmith & City Line was totally shut down owing to “heat related restrictions,” and there was no Metropolitan Line between Baker Street and Aldgate.
The District, Central, Bakerloo, and Jubilee lines on the Underground all experienced significant delays. Transport for London advised all city residents to forgo unnecessary travel.
Around 1.06 million entries and exits were made by London Underground passengers up to 10am on Monday, according to Transport for London (TfL), down 18% from the same time last week. TfL recommended people to “only travel if needed.”
The UK will be hotter than Nassau, Bahamas (32C), Kingston, Jamaica (33C), Malaga, Spain (28C), Athens, Greece (35C), Albufeira, Portugal (28C), and Dakhla, Western Sahara (Dakhla) due to the intense heat (24C).
At midday today, the temperature in London had already risen to 34C (93F). In the midst of what weather predictions labelled an “extraordinary hot period,” Brits camped up overnight at Bournemouth Beach to secure the finest place today:
Foot traffic in London was down 10% throughout high streets, retail parks, and shopping centres today compared to last week as a result of the hot weather.
The total statistic for UK shopping locations was down 3%, although foot traffic on high streets in coastal towns increased by 9%.
With both the automobile and its people overheating, the heatwave could pose serious issues for many older vehicles lacking air conditioning or current maintenance. It’s best to drive outside during the warmest time of the day.
“Be sure to pack enough of water—at least one litre for each traveller.” In hot conditions, staying hydrated can help reduce body temperatures in both you and other passengers.
If the worst happens, you can keep yourself and others who are with you hydrated while you wait for rescue.
Anglian Water apologised for an outage in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, caused by a 22-inch pipe burst, which left some Britons without water.
In the meantime, Andrew Tucker, Thames Water’s manager for water demand reduction, has asked customers to use water sparingly, especially in their backyard gardens, as the heatwave has caused demand to be “at near record level.”
According to Mr. Tucker, Thames Water is not currently considering any water restrictions, but if there is insufficient rainfall in the upcoming months, that might change.
We’re doing fairly well, he remarked in a statement to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
We are well aware of the volume of water present in the system, including that which is present in our rivers, subterranean aquifers, and reservoirs.
We weigh it against the level of demand from homes and companies, which is very close to a record, as we had anticipated.
We don’t currently anticipate needing to impose water restrictions, he continued.
However, we are consuming the water we have more quickly than we would want because more people are using it right now.
“If we don’t get any rain in the next few months, that situation might change, but we’re keeping an eye on it every day,” said the spokesperson.
We are attempting to get through that time because we depend on winter rainfall to replenish rivers and groundwater, he continued.
It’s difficult to know where to start because nine out of the last 11 months had rainfall that was much below average because we didn’t get the winter rain we wanted. But if everyone pitches in, we can overcome this.
It gets harder every month, Mr. Tucker continued, and there is no denying that the peak demand right now is exceptional.
“We’ll be in a better position to tell how we’re going to stand for the rest of the year until we get back into a pattern and understand what consumers are doing in homes and businesses just as a normal weather condition.”
Although rain would be welcome, people’s small efforts in their back gardens and backyards at the time are what truly make a difference.
We are simply asking people to “keep hydrated, take care of their health, but please use water very wisely and don’t squander it.”
More call takers and extended hours of operation are only two examples of the additional contingency assistance that has been put in place for ambulance services.
As a result of the heatwave, which has increased demand for NHS services, ambulance trusts throughout the UK are preparing for an increase in 999 calls.
The entire health system is under pressure as temperatures rise, according to interim deputy chief executive of NHS Providers Miriam Deakin, with some operating rooms becoming too hot and necessitating postponing surgeries.
Instructing people to only phone 999 in an emergency, London Ambulance Service director of 999 operations Brian Jordan told the BBC that a busy day might see 5,500 emergency calls, but he expected up to 8,000 calls on Monday.
According to Ms. Deakin, hot weather spells exacerbate the strain on the NHS by raising demand for urgent and emergency care and delaying some planned care.
Children, older persons, and those with underlying diseases are typically the most vulnerable.
Although further measures have been taken to boost ambulance capacity, ambulance trusts will still be under a lot of pressure as more 999 calls are anticipated.
The NHS estate was not designed to withstand severe storms.
We’ve heard over the last 48 hours that certain trusts are being forced to reduce the number of planned procedures because the operating rooms are becoming too hot.
We’ve also heard that in buildings with already-exhausted air conditioning, IT server rooms require additional cooling.
Some trusts are developing backup plans to cut back on their printing in order to ease the burden on IT infrastructure.
She claimed that NHS administrators were making every effort to assist patients and employees who were working in trying circumstances.
In many trusts, for instance, employees don casual scrubs rather than dress uniforms, she noted.
Trusts have purchased bottled water to distribute to patients and staff, as well as ice cream trucks and hospital kitchens that produce ice lollipops for patients and coworkers.
Trusts are also hanging fans and installing industrial cooling units where they can, and they are taking the effects of the heatwave into account when deciding which patients to discharge.
Britons are advised to avoid going outside between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., use sunscreen, hats, and protective clothing, and drink enough of water to stay hydrated.
Dehydration, hyperthermia, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke are just a few of the risks associated with heat, according to University of Reading professor Claudia Di Napoli.
She cautioned, “These must not be underestimated as their effects may be fatal.”
People have also been reminded by emergency services to exercise caution when cooling off.
Today, a 14-year-old kid is thought to have drowned in the River Thames in Richmond, and a 16-year-old lad died after getting into trouble in Bray Lake, close to Maidenhead, Berkshire.
He was declared dead at the scene at just after 1.30pm, according to Thames Valley Police, who said police were contacted at 11.45am today.
The death of a young boy after getting into trouble in Bray Lake’s water is an awful tragedy, according to Superintendent Michael Greenwood, the LPA Commander for Windsor and Maidenhead.
The boy’s family has been informed, and they are being given help during this terribly painful and terrible time.
My sympathies are with the boy’s family and friends, as are the thoughts of everyone at Thames Valley Police.
Following the 14-year-old child saw entering the sea at Tagg’s Island at 4.43 p.m., London Ambulance was summoned to Hampton.
All three emergency services and members of the public participated in a thorough search that ended at 6:40 p.m., while efforts to find his remains will continue this evening.
His surviving family members are informed and receiving support from specialised police.
A man who was seen in the Erewash canal close to Sandiacre, Derbyshire, was also rescued today by the local fire, police, and medical services.
One person was in the water, but fortunately they were rescued, according to a spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The victim is presently with EMAS, and all fire crews have exited the water.
It follows the discovery of a boy’s body early yesterday morning in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester.
Northumbria Police reported that officers looking for a missing 13-year-old who got into trouble in a river near Ovingham, Northumberland, discovered a body.
The teen’s body was discovered after extensive searches by the force’s marine unit, according to Northumbria Police.
A body has since been discovered in the water, a spokesman tweeted. Although formal identification hasn’t happened yet, we think it’s the missing boy.
We had hoped that we would never have to provide this awful update. Officers are assisting his family, and we are praying for them during this terrible time.
And on Sunday, a 50-year-old man’s body was found in the Ardsley Reservoir, which is located between Leeds and Wakefield.
In the West Midlands, binmen started their rounds at 5.30 am.
When asked if the Government supported schools closing down during the heatwave, Thomas Waite, the deputy chief medical officer, responded, “Headteachers know their building best.”
Hospitals are having trouble, according to Emma Runswick, vice chairwoman of the British Medical Association council, because of persistent underinvestment.
She stated, “As the climate warms and periods of very hot weather increase in frequency, we now now add “summer pressures” to the “winter pressures” the NHS must deal with on an annual basis.”
“After decades of underinvestment, our hospitals are under-resourced, under-staffed, and under-bedded, and they are unable to add these additional difficulties to an already daunting pile that includes elective backlogs, an ageing and expanding population, and more.
Doctors work in outdated hospitals and general practitioner offices.
Since the start of the epidemic, we have emphasised numerous times how outmoded NHS facilities are endangering patient and worker safety when it comes to ventilation. Unfortunately, not nearly enough progress has been achieved since then.
As the summers get hotter, ventilation, air conditioning, and contemporary insulation will all be necessary for safe working conditions. This strengthens the need for renovations.
Building resilience for weather extremes is necessary, according to Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, who made that statement earlier.
The NHS, he said, “has an estate that is crumbling, so many of the buildings are not the kind that have the adaptability to these kinds of challenges.”
The NHS will certainly pull out all the stops and do everything it can, but to be truly resilient we have to address those capacity issues, as we learned during Covid.
“We’ll do our best, but what’s really important is that we have resilient public services that have the capacity to respond to problems like this,” the NHS said.