The UK heads into its hottest day on record on Monday, with temperatures predicted to hit 40°C for the first time, forcing railway companies to cancel services, schools to close early and ministers to urge the population to stay at home.
Much of Europe is frying in a heat wave that has raised temperatures to around 40 degrees Celsius in some regions, with wildfires ravaging dry fields in Portugal, Spain and France.
The British government has issued a “national emergency” alert, as temperatures are expected to exceed, on Monday and Tuesday, the 38.7°C recorded at the Botanical Garden of the University of Cambridge in 2019.
“We have 48 difficult hours ahead of us,” Kit Malthouse, the minister in charge of government coordination, told BBC radio.
The London Underground network has imposed temporary speed restrictions for Monday and Tuesday, meaning it would operate with reduced service and journeys taking longer than usual. Passengers were asked to travel only if essential.
The national rail network also urged passengers to stay at home and said some services – including a major route between north east England and London – would not work during parts of Tuesday.
Network Rail’s Jake Kelly said he expected normal operations to resume on Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to drop, but that would depend on “what damage the weather does to infrastructure in the coming days.”
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The government urged schools to remain open, but many were expected to close earlier than usual, normal uniform requirements were dropped and year-end sports days were cancelled.
Some schools have closed, resorting to lockdown-style online classes.
And at least one major zoo, in Chester, said it would close for two days, while London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo said many animals could retreat to “cold zones” and some exhibits could be closed.
Some factories have also moved up opening hours to prevent workers in hotter jobs, such as welding, from getting sick.
The British Health Safety Agency has raised the heat health alert to level 4 for England for Monday and Tuesday.
Britain’s Weather Service defines a Level 4 alert as a national emergency, to be used when a heat wave “is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system. At this level, illness and death can occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups.”
The Met Office said “substantial” changes to work practices and daily routines would be necessary, and there was a high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, potentially leading to localized loss of power, water or mobile phone services.
Malthouse said the government was prepared for the extreme weather and would seek to learn from it.
“We definitely need to adapt the way we build the buildings, the way we operate and look at some of our infrastructure in light of what appears to be an increasing frequency of these types of events,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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