Britain is bracing for what could become the hottest day ever recorded in the UK, as a blistering ‘heat dome’ pushes temperatures towards an extraordinary 40C amid dire health warnings, travel chaos and widespread disruption.
A rare red extreme heat warning covering a vast swathe of England and Wales came into force this morning for just the second time.
The Met Office has forecast that temperatures could reach 40C this week and said that the exceptional conditions pose a risk to life not just for vulnerable people, but across the wider population.
Britain’s highest temperature on record is 40.3C which was set in Coningsby in July 2022.
In an ominous warning, forecasters have said they expect the 50-year June temperature record of 35.6C to get ‘absolutely smashed’.
The looming heat emergency has already thrown parts of the country into chaos, with Great Northern passengers being forced to walk on the tracks yesterday afternoon when a train lost power ‘in the middle of nowhere’.
Commuters were left stuck for two hours without any air-conditioning in the blistering heat in what one person described as ‘a f***ing shambles’.
Nearly 1,000 schools are closing or reducing opening hours, rail operators have slashed timetables, Eurostar services have been cancelled and passengers are being urged to avoid travelling altogether as temperatures soar.
Air conditioning units have also sold out at B&Q and Argos as Britons raced to buy the cooling equipment to help battle against the heatwave.Â
South East Water is asking customers to only use water ‘for hygiene, drinking and cooking’ and to pause ‘all hose use’ to ‘help keep taps flowing for everyone’.
And Wessex Water – which covers South West England, most of Wiltshire, and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire – says people should take shorter showers, reuse paddling pool water, and use watering cans instead of hosepipes to help cope with the surge in demand for water.
The Cabinet Office held an official-level COBR meeting on Tuesday morning over the severe heatwave, with a Government spokesperson saying it will continue to closely monitor the situation.
And Wessex Water – which covers South West England, most of Wiltshire, and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire – says people should take shorter showers, reuse paddling pool water, and use watering cans instead of hosepipes to help cope with the surge in demand for water.
The Cabinet Office held an official-level COBR meeting on Tuesday morning over the severe heatwave, with a Government spokesperson saying it will continue to closely monitor the situation.
