The UK recorded its hottest ever June temperature on Wednesday with the mercury rising to 35.8C in southern England, breaking the previous record of 35.6C set in 1976.
It is the second month in a row that Britain has broken historical temperature records, as scientists warn that climate change is making extreme weather events like heatwaves more frequent and intense.
The record was broken with a temperature of 35.7C recorded near Gatwick Airport, south of London, as Britain experiences a second month in a row of record-breaking heat, the UK’s Met Office said.
The weather service then told AFP a provisional temperature of 35.8C was later recorded in Wiggonholt, southwest of London, saying this could be surpassed later in the day when more figures came in.
The Met Office has issued a rare red “extreme heat” warning for parts of central and south England and Wales, for Wednesday and Thursday, and extended it until just before midnight (2300 GMT).
Hundreds of schools were partially or fully closed during the peak of the heatwave, as teachers and parents raised concerns that old school buildings in Britain were not equipped to deal with the warmer summers.
Train companies slashed services anticipating disruptions to the infrastructure due to the heat and urged passengers not to travel unless necessary. The electricity grid operator warned that supply could be squeezed on Wednesday due to pressure on the system.
London resident Yana Markevich said it was a “struggle” in her flat without any air conditioning, and that she had launched a petition to ease regulations on some homeowners to install air conditioning, which remains rare in British homes.
Markevich said she had set up a portable AC and sealed the windows in preparation for the heatwave.
“I think sooner or later the UK will have to accept that proper cooling is becoming part of basic housing standards,” Markevich told AFP.
On a building site in London, electrician Harrison Hammond, 29, said workers had been told to “take regular breaks, regular water, hats, sun cream and all that”.
‘Terrifying heatwaves’
Workers’ unions urged better working conditions in the heat, with the Unite union calling “bus firms to act immediately to protect drivers from extreme temperatures”.
“Bus drivers, who work in driver cabs that become even hotter than it is outside, are at particular risk,” Unite said, adding temperatures in the cabin where drivers sit can “exceed 40 degrees”.
At University College London’s Grant Museum of Zoology, curator Tannis Davidson said researchers were considering having to “preventatively decant” jars after one specimen jar broke due to the heat last year.
“It’s our collective cultural heritage that we have to worry about beyond just living (in the heat),” Davidson told AFP.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who resigned earlier this week but will stay in the post till his successor is chosen, said the weather was a reminder that climate change is “one of the most significant challenges of our time”.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace UK called for the government to “reduce our dependence on fossil fuels”.
“The summer of ’76 may be seared into the nation’s memory, but it’s quickly being overtaken by even more terrifying heatwaves,” Greenpeace UK’s Angharad Hopkinson said.
In a report published Wednesday, experts at the Climate Change Committee warned the government that the UK needed a faster transition to electric cars and heat pumps to meet its 2030 emissions targets.
