The UK could have its hottest day on record this week, with temperatures forecast to hit up to 41C (106F).
The Meteorological Office issued a red extreme heat warning on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in much of England, from London and the South-East up to York and Manchester. The current highest temperature in the UK is 38.7C, in Cambridge in 2019. High temperatures are also forecast across the UK, with amber warnings in the rest of England, all of Wales, and parts of Scotland.
London is set to be one of the hottest places in the world on Monday, July 18, 2022, with temperatures soaring above the Western Sahara and the Caribbean. The capital is forecast to be hotter than Dakhla in Western Sahara (24C), Nassau in the Bahamas (32C), Kingston in Jamaica (33C), Malaga in Spain (28C) and Athens in Greece (35C).
The hot weather will continue on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, with overnight temperatures warned to be in the mid-twenties, before cooling on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. It is the first time the Metropolitan Office has issued a red warning since the system was introduced last year (2021).
Measures Being Put in Place
This means “widespread impacts on people and infrastructure” are expected, with “substantial changes in working practices and daily routines” required. As a result, some schools plan to close early, or better still, not open at all, although the government issued guidance designed to keep them open.
Network Rail (the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway networks in Great Britain) disclosed that people should travel only “if absolutely necessary” on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19, 2022, with some cancellations already announced, and speed restrictions in place across the network. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) will not run services between London and Leeds and York for much of Tuesday, July, 19, 2022.
Alongside the Metropolitan Office’s red and amber warnings, the UK Health Security Agency issued a level four warning for England, which the government is treating as a “national emergency”. After an emergency Cobra meeting for Ministers on Saturday, July 16, 2022, Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, said ambulance capacity would increase, alongside more call handlers.
Sunday, July 17, 2022, was the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 33C in Flintshire, 32C in Cheshire, 27.7C in Armagh in Northern Ireland, and 26.4C at Auchincruive in Ayrshire. Additionally, beaches across the country were packed, and people have been warned to take care while they cool off in water. On Saturday evening, a 16-year-old boy died after swimming in Salford Quays (a unique waterfront location), while a man is missing after entering a reservoir in West Yorkshire.
Experts Advice
Water companies in Southern and Eastern England warned that increased demand is leading to low pressure, and even interrupted supply, for some households.
As such, experts have urged people to drink water, keep their curtains closed where possible, and as much as possible, check on friends and relatives. According to Prof Penny Endersby, who is the Metropolitan Office Chief Executive, “In this country, we’re used to treating a hot spell as a chance to go and play in the sun. This is not that sort of weather”.
Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions. Additionally, soaring temperatures are also having a devastating impact on much of Europe and North Africa, with wildfires raging from Greece to Morocco and thousands being evacuated from blazes in France and Spain.
By far, more than 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the heat in Portugal and Spain in recent days.
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