Britain is roasting in 97F (36C) heat today in the grips of a searing Saharan heatwave that has melted roads and threatens to buckle train tracks – but the worst could come tomorrow when UK faces its hottest day on record.
While thousands of sun-loving Britons have flocked to the beaches and parks today, the heatwave has already claimed the lives of two swimmers in Gloucestershire and London. The searing temperatures are even forcing desperate councils to consider sending out gritter trucks in a bid to stop roads ‘melting like chocolate’.
London commuters struggled in stifling 93F (34C) heat on the Tube this morning, exceeding EU laws on the acceptable temperatures for transporting cattle, at 86F (30C). Meanwhile, those off work joked they would rather ‘be in the office’ so they could enjoy ‘the air conditioning’ ahead of possible 102F (39C) highs tomorrow.
The roasting heatwave, that has caused sleepless nights for many across the UK, sparked fearsome thunderstorms with an incredible 45,000 lightning strikes overnight across much of England, Wales and Scotland.
The Met Office said there is a 60 per cent chance tomorrow could be the hottest day on record, depending on the amount of cloud. The highest overnight average temperature ever seen in the UK was 73.94F (23.3C) in July 1948, and forecasters have also now said there is a possibility this will also be beaten tomorrow night into Friday.
Boiling air originating from Africa has swept across Europe towards Britain, with forecasters also predicting new temperature highs in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, where the mercury is set to reach 104F (40C).
Tomorrow, commuters have been warned not to travel on Southeastern rail services in Kent when the heat could ‘buckle’ train lines by raising the temperatures of the rails to 122F (50C), potentially making the metal curve.
Sunbathers make the most of the heat in London’s Hyde Park today as temperatures soar once again across the country
Sisters Ebony, 11, and Isobella, eight, cool off in the river at Brockenhurst in the New Forest as the hot weather continues today
Sunbathers make the most of the hot weather on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex this morning
Early morning swimmers take a dip at the ponds at Hampstead Heath in North West London today
The temperature on a Central line Underground train at Bond Street today was recorded by MailOnline as 92.7F (33.7C)
A Met Office spokesman said there is a chance tomorrow could see the hottest July temperature ever – heat flare shown in red
Commuters sweltered on the Tube today, including Hao Llu, 30, a tourist from Shanghai on the Piccadilly line.
He told MailOnline: ‘I arrived last week and have found it very hot – especially on the Tube. I always try and prepare before I go out by putting on plenty of sun cream and taking a fan. But it’s not as bad as Shanghai.’
Mathilde, 25, an account manager going to work in Camden on the Northern line, said: ‘It would be nice if it was like this on the weekend rather than the commute, wouldn’t it?
‘I could walk rather than taking the Tube when it’s hot but that would take me two hours. What can you do? I always drink a lot of water to help cope with it.’
Tech worker Sarah Migoel, going to work with her husband Rueben on the Northern line, said: ‘I’m feeling rough at the moment – I’m probably about to pass out. We both like the hot weather but not when you’re down on the Tube.’
Will, 27, who travelled from North Acton to Notting Hill said: ‘The Central line has been awful ever since I moved to London five years ago. At this rate we’ll only get air conditioned trains by 2050.’
And Karen, 38, a mother-of-two from Mile End, said: ‘It’s a nightmare with the kids in the morning, they usually like going to school on the Tube but like this they’re just uncomfortable and irritable.’
Much of the South of the country saw lightning overnight in places such as Bournemouth, Salisbury and Plymouth, while parts of the North saw it on a smaller scale in Cumbria and Lancaster.
Holidaymakers and sunbathers pack the beach at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset on another hot day today
Patrycja Kowalska (left), 27, on Bournemouth beach, and Tracey Wilkinson (right) at Great Yarmouth beach in Norfolk today
Families make the most of the heatwave weather in Britain as they go for a dip at Hyde Park in London today
Kadie Lane, ten, cools off in the fountain today at Alnwick Gardens in Alnwick, Northumberland
A welcome breeze greets these people at Camber Sands beach in East Sussex on a very hot and sunny morning today
Runners and walkers enjoy the early morning sunlight on the South Bank of the River Thames in London today
The sun rises behind distant clouds with London’s skyline in silhouette, as seen from Waterloo Bridge this morning
A beautiful sunrise is photographed above Keyhaven Harbour in the New Forest, Hampshire, this morning
Yesterday’s top temperature was 92.7F (33.7C) in Northolt, West London – not quite beating the benchmark for the warmest day of 2019 so far which was last month on June 29, when 93F (34C) was recorded in the same place.
Rail passengers in Scotland faced delays and cancellations after lightning strikes damaged signalling equipment. ScotRail said there was disruption on the Highland mainline and far north line today following stormy weather.
Passengers travelling on Caledonian Sleeper services also faced delays after lightning strikes damaged signalling equipment in the north of England.
ScotRail said both the Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness and Inverness to Wick lines have now reopened and services were returning to normal. Caledonian Sleeper said it was working to resolve the issue.
Speed restrictions are to be introduced on some rail lines because of the heat, Network Rail has revealed.
It said ‘in some locations we may have to introduce speed restrictions during the hottest part of the day at vulnerable locations as slower trains exert lower forces on the track and reduce the likelihood of buckling’.
Nick King, of Network Rail added: ‘Keeping passengers safe and moving are our top priorities during this heatwave.
‘That’s why we sometimes have to put speed restriction on to prevent our rails – that can be over 20 degrees hotter than air temperatures – from buckling which can derail a train and cause huge delays.
A Southeastern spokesman said: ‘Metal rails in direct sunshine can exceed 50C (122F) and Network Rail need to introduce these speed restrictions to reduce the chance of rails buckling in the heat.
‘Significantly fewer services will be running on Thursday, and many trains will be much busier than usual as a result.
‘Those trains which do run will take longer to complete their journeys – particularly on our longer-distance routes.
‘We strongly advise you to avoid travelling, if you can. Details of those trains which won’t be running is still being finalised and we will update journey planners on Wednesday as soon as these are confirmed.’
The Rail Delivery Group said passengers travelling into London and the South East of England are advised to check before they travel and consider changing their plans tomorrow because services may be disrupted due to the heat.
Those who are sick of the heat will be pleased to know that after tomorrow, temperatures are set to drop again, with Friday reaching highs of a mere 81F (27C).
But two swimmers were found dead and another two are missing after thousands of Britons took to the water yesterday to cool down after temperatures reached 93F in parts of the UK.
A body was pulled from a water park in Gloucester and the man was pronounced dead on the scene, while in East London, the body of man was recovered from Shadwell Basin after he went swimming there with friends.
A view from the Malvern Hills overlooking Worcestershire and Gloucestershire as lightning struck in the middle of the night
Lightning bursts through the clouds over Jodrell Bank in Cheshire in the early hours of this morning during the storm
Bolts of lightning were seen striking down on Plymouth overnight after the Met Office put in place a yellow weather warning
Lightning also streaked through the skies above The Shard in London overnight, pictured, as the weather took a dramatic turn
The night’s sky was illuminated by the lightning in Guildford, Surrey, pictured, and will be followed by more hot weather today
Portsmouth’s Harbour and Spinnaker Tower were illuminated by lightning after thunderstorms battered the area overnight
Lightning battered much of the UK last night and is pictured above in the West Sussex cathedral city of Chichester
In Dorset, lightning lit up most of the sky overnight as it hit the area. Flashes of lightning were seen across the UK overnight
Police in London are also searching a stretch of water near Waterloo Bridge, while another is also missing from the Kingston-upon-Thames area.
Emergency services were called to Cotswold Water Park, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, at about 1.40pm yesterday following reports a swimmer had gone missing.
Police, fire and ambulance crews were at the site, with a National Police Air Service helicopter scrambled to help search for the swimmer.
Gloucestershire Police said the body of a man was pulled from the water shortly before 8.50pm. He was pronounced dead at the scene and the coroner and the man’s next of kin have been informed.
At 8.30pm in London, police were called to Waterloo, where a person was reported missing in the river.
Just five minutes later, at 8.35pm, officers also attended at Kingston, after reports another man was seen in the river.
This was while an urgent search was underway in East London, after a swimmer jumped into Shadwell Basin. Police were called at around 6.06pm yesterday after reports came in of a man entering the water.
Officers and the marine policing unit attended, along with other emergency service personnel, and were searching the area. A body was found this morning.
Commuters sweltered on the Tube today, including Hao Llu, 30, a tourist from Shanghai on the Piccadilly line
Forecasters issued a thunderstorm warning for most of Britain, which ran from 6pm yesterday and will continue until 9am today, amid fears of scattered storms which could bring flooding and power cuts.
In Manchester, bubbles appeared in the Tarmac – and, as the heat intensifies, Public Health England (PHE) is urging people to cover windows to keep rooms cool.
After tomorrow, a cold front will then push eastwards bringing rainfall and thunderstorms. As fresher air moves in, Friday’s highest temperatures will be much cooler than tomorrow with 81F (27C) expected in London and 73F (23C) in Manchester.
Those commuting last night struggled to cope with the heat, with one saying it was ‘worse than Mexico’. Temperatures on the Tube rose to more than 93F (34C), leaving commuters and tourists frantically fanning themselves.
The temperature on the Central Line yesterday was 93.6F (34.2C), 4.2C more than the legal limit for transporting cattle.
EU law states that cattle cannot be transported in temperatures past 86F (30C), but there are currently no laws in place to prevent human beings being transported at such temperatures.
The warmest areas of southern Britain are expected to reach at least 95F (35C) – and it will be even hotter on the continent
This week will bring plenty of sunshine to most parts of Britain, although there will be some cloud in the far north of Scotland
Temperatures will soar across Britain this week, with a possibility of 99F (37C) in the South East by tomorrow (right)
Guidance from Transport for London recommends that the maximum level for overcrowding is ‘three people per square metre of standing space’, but also states that this can vary.
In these circumstances it would mean that cows are actually transported in better conditions, and have to be given at least 0.95m2 each, and as much as 1.60m2 for larger cows.
One Tube user, Kelly Cloughton, from Essex, said yesterday: ‘It’s awful to be honest, because there’s people having to stand, it’s overcrowded on the train, so everyone is in close proximity.
‘People smell, their hygiene isn’t great. We don’t get any refreshments or anything and they definitely need to put aircon on it, especially on the Central line. It’s just really warm and not great to be on’.
Many Europeans, however, are used to hotter temperatures, and one commuter, Miguel Almeidu, 20, who is from Italy but is now living in Stockwell, said people know it’s summer and that it’s going to be hot.
He added: ‘There’s no air conditioning but that’s OK, you know, it’s London isn’t it? It’s a crappy Tube. It was built hundreds of years ago. I’m not expecting air conditioning on anything so old.’
This is while another European, Amris, 57, originally from France but living in London, said it was just about bearable catching the Tube.
She added: ‘But getting off feels really nice. The tube is OK and I think they’re doing a good job. Very adequate, I cannot complain. I think it’s OK as long as it’s not too crowded.’
Despite the heat, those from outside of the UK and Europe joked that they wanted it to be hotter.
Security worker Paulet Burry, in his 60s, said: ‘I come from Jamaica where it’s much hotter than this.’
Mitzi Zeigner, 46, a human development professor at Texas Tech University, added: ‘We are really not used to these temperatures back home. I spent £1 on a fan today, I think it was the best pound I have ever spent.’
Ms Zeigner’s student Madeline Wyatt, 20, of Lubbock, Texas, added: ‘Back home we drive everywhere and have air conditioning on all the time.
‘I’m not used to this heat at all. It’s been so cloudy and cool until now. I don’t know what happened. The only time I ever walk back home is between lectures on my campus, the rest of the time I am in somewhere with air conditioning.’
At Baker Street on the Bakerloo line temperatures hit 93F (33.9C) yesterday.
MBA student Magali Dias, 28, from Mexico City, said: ‘It’s not just the heat, it’s the people too. It’s completely overwhelming. It’s worse than Mexico.’
But Alonso Lopez, 30, an MBA student also from Mexico’s capital, added: ‘I much prefer this to the cold. It reminds me of home.’
Maria Petreski, 26, a marketing specialist from Serbia, said: ‘They should do something to make the trains more comfortable in the heat on the Bakerloo line.
‘I’m seriously considering changing my commute onto the Hammersmith line where it’s much more spacious. That makes it much cooler.’
Meanwhile, a dog welfare charity advised owners to not leave pets alone in a hot car seat even for a few minutes, and others said heatwaves should be named in the same way as winter storms to better warn people of the dangers.
Advice from health officials includes ‘drinking plenty of fluids’, avoiding excess alcohol and wearing ‘loose, cool clothing’. PHE also called on the public to ‘check up on’ vulnerable friends, relatives and neighbours.
Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said: ‘It’s really important to take simple precautions like drinking plenty of water, using high-factor sunscreen and remembering to take allergy medication if you need it – as is making sure to check in on neighbours and loved ones who can suffer the most from heat and pollen.’
People with minor illnesses are urged to check the NHS website or call 111 for help.
High levels of pollen and ultraviolet light – increasing the risk of sunburn – are expected particularly in the south and east until Thursday.
Pollution levels in southern areas are also expected to rise to moderate.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said skies across Britain could be about to turn an eerie shade of red as Saharan dust is swept in with the hot air along with smoke from fires currently ravaging swathes of Portugal.
He said: ‘We are expecting to get some Saharan dust coming up and there are also some wildfires across Portugal from which we could see some smoke also coming into the UK.
‘There will be a continued risk of Saharan dust through to the end of the week, so there will be some pretty sunsets.’
Defra’s pollution alert for tomorrow says: ‘Air sourced from the near continent may give moderate levels of air pollution across some areas of England and Wales, and on Friday across some eastern areas of Scotland and England.’
The situation is set to cause problems for Britain’s 5.4 million asthma sufferers.
Dr Andy Whittamore, clinical lead at Asthma UK and a practising GP, said: ‘A toxic cocktail of hot humid weather and rising pollen levels this week could be extremely hazardous, triggering deadly asthma attacks.
‘Hot air and hay fever can cause people’s airways to narrow, leaving them struggling to breathe, with symptoms like coughing, wheezing, a tight chest and breathlessness.
‘Hot weather can also increase the amount of pollutants, pollen and mould in the air which can trigger asthma symptoms.
‘If you are worried, make sure you take your hay fever medicines, keep taking your regular preventer as prescribed by your doctor and carry your blue reliever inhaler at all times.’
Breakdown companies urged motorists to check their cars to avoid unnecessary callouts, while Pets At Home warned people to check their animals and homes for fleas, as ‘hot and humid conditions create the perfect breeding ground for the parasites to thrive’.
Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: ‘The UK will experience another pulse of high temperatures this week, with the possibility of records being broken for not only July but also all-time records.
‘The weather setup is broadly similar to the pattern that brought high temperatures to much of continental Europe at the end of June.
‘As well as high temperatures during the day, overnight temperatures will also be notably warm and could also break records. Conditions will feel much more comfortable for all by the time we get to Friday.’
Meanwhile, there were calls yesterday for heatwaves to be named in the same way as winter storms to better warn people of the dangers of sweltering heat.
The Government’s advisory Committee on Climate Change recently warned that the UK was not prepared for a future of more heatwaves, with more action needed to prevent overheating in homes, hospitals and schools, and that even vulnerable people did not consider themselves at risk.
Last summer’s heatwaves led to 863 excess deaths, Public Health England has estimated.
Bob Ward, director of policy at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change, said the Met Office should start naming heatwaves, like it has for winter storms since 2015, to help warn people about severe weather.
Mr Ward said: ‘Far more people have died from recent heatwaves than from storms, so it should be uncontroversial to start applying names to both.
‘The Government and its agencies, including the Met Office, must lead the way in communicating the growing dangers of heatwaves and other impacts of climate change, so that the British public are better informed and can protect themselves.’
This is while further afield in Europe, a string of countries are continuing to swelter in hot conditions.
Forecasters predicted new temperature highs in a string of countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, where the mercury is set to reach 104F (40C) for the first time tomorrow.
Only last month Europe struggled to cope with soaring temperatures across the continent, which caused wildfires in Spain, France and Germany.
French energy company EDF said it would temporarily shut down the two reactors at its Golftech nuclear power plant this week in the southern Tarn-et-Garonne department, in a bid to limit the heating of water used to keep reactors cool.
Reactor number two shut down last night and number one today, with both due to stay shut until July 30.
France is gearing up for a surge in electricity use this week, but the national electricity board said earlier this week that there will be enough supplies.
And as the Tour de France reached its final week in the southeast of the country, ice foot baths and extra water points were on hand to avoid dehydration.
‘In the third week of the Tour de France, I think heat like this could make the difference,’ said Davide Bramati, head of sport for team Deceuninck, whose cyclist Julian Alaphilippe is currently leading the world-famous race.
Authorities around Europe also issued health warnings, encouraging older or vulnerable people to be particularly vigilant.
Germany, France, Poland and the Czech Republic all also recorded their highest-ever June temperatures.
The World Meteorological Organisation said that 2019 is on track to be among the world’s hottest years and 2015-2019 would be the hottest five-year period on record.
** Have you taken any photographs of the hot weather? Please email them to: pictures@mailonline.co.uk **
Why is the UK in the grip of a heatwave and is it related to the one roasting the US?
WHAT IS CAUSING THE HEATWAVE?
The heatwave has been triggered by the build-up of high pressures over Europe over the past few days, leading to the northward movement of warm air from Europe over the UK.
‘At this time of year southerly winds will always lead to above average temperatures,’ said University of Reading meteorologist Peter Inness.
‘Air from continental Europe, the Mediterranean and even North Africa is brought over the UK.’
‘The eastward passage of weather fronts and low pressures from the North Atlantic are currently being blocked by the high pressure over Europe,’ added University of Reading climate scientist Len Shaffrey.
IS IT RELATED TO THE US HEATWAVE?
The US’s recent warm weather has been caused by a high-pressure dome building up over much of the country, trapping the summer heat.
This has wider-reaching effects.
‘Heatwave conditions in the U.S Midwest and the East coast have strengthened the jet stream,’ explained environmental scientist Kate Sambrook of the University of Leeds.
‘The resulting thunderstorms occurring on the continent have helped the jet stream to meander and move to the north of the U.K.’
‘As a result of this shift, hot air has been drawn up from Europe causing the high temperatures we are experiencing this week.’
The US’s recent warm weather has been caused by a high-pressure dome building up over much of the country, trapping the summer heat
HOW LONG WILL THE HEAT LAST?
‘Although there is some uncertainty in the forecast, it looks like it will become cooler on Friday as the high pressure over Europe moves slowly towards the east,’ said Dr Shaffrey.
‘This will allow weather fronts to move over the UK, bringing cooler air and possibly some rain,’ Professor Shaffrey added,
HOW HOT WILL IT GET?
Meteorologists are predicting high temperatures reaching up to 100°F (38°C) over central and Eastern England on Thursday.
Although different forecasts are anticipating slightly different details, ‘the broad message of all the forecasts is the same,’ said Dr Inness.
‘It will be hot, with high temperatures persisting through the night time periods, and there is the risk of some thunderstorms over the UK.’
These will continue through Wednesday.
‘If conditions continue, it is likely that we could experience the hottest July on record,’ said Dr Sambrook.
‘However, the outcome is uncertain as conditions are expected to change early next week.’
University of Oxford climate scientist Karsten Haustein added that ‘there is a 40–50 per cent chance that this will be the warmest July on record.’
The final estimate depends on which observational dataset is used, he noted.
While agreeing that the next week’s weather will determine this July’s place in the record books, Dr Inness noted that 2019 did bring us the warmest June known since the year 1880.
‘In fact, 9 of the 10 warmest Junes in the global record have happened since 2000’, he said.
In Europe, he noted, this June was also the warmest on record, reaching almost a whole degree Celsius above the previous number one back in 2003.
‘Weather records are not normally broken by such large margins — a few tenths of a degree would be more likely.’
The present conditions may turn out to be record-breaking, but they are also part of a recent trend towards warmer UK summers.
‘2018 was the joint hottest [year] on record with highest temperature measured at around 35°C, similar to temperatures expected this week,’ said University of Leeds climatologist Declan Finney.
The likelihood of experiencing such hot summers has risen from a less than 10 per cent chance in the 1980s to as high as a 25 per chance today, he added.
IS CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSING HEATWAVES?
‘The fact that so many recent years have had very high summer temperatures both globally and across Europe is very much in line with what we expect from man-made global warming,’ said Dr Inness.
‘Changes in the intensity and likelihood of extreme weather is how climate change manifests,’ said environmental scientist Friederike Otto of the University of Oxford.
‘That doesn’t mean every extreme event is more intense because of it, but a lot are. For example, every heatwave occurring in Europe today is made more likely and more intense by human-induced climate change.’
However, local factors also play a role, with each extreme weather event being influenced by the location, season, intensity and duration.
The present heatwave is not the only notable indicator of climate change, experts note, with ongoing droughts — such as those being experienced in many parts of Germany — also being in line with scientific predictions.
Research into the 2003 European heatwave suggested at the time that human activity had more than doubled the risk of such warm summers — and that annual heatwaves like we are experiencing now could become commonplace by around the middle of the century.
‘It has been estimated that about 35,000 people died as a result of the European heatwave in 2003, so this is not a trivial issue,’ said Dr Inness.
‘With further climate change there could be a 50% chance of having hot summers in the future,’ agreed Dr Finney.
‘That’s similar to saying that a normal summer in future will be as hot as our hottest summers to date,’ he ad