London — The train is crawling slow. Schools and clinics have closed the doors. The British Museum has closed the gallery. Buckingham Palace has reduced the Changing of the Guard ceremony. And the government urged people to work from home.
Much of Britain has reached the hottest mark ever recorded in Wales, with ruthless heat filtered north from the fire-torn European continent to temperatures close to three-digit Fahrenheit in many areas. I took an unwilling siesta on Monday.
Authorities placed most of the country under a “red” warning about heat for the first time in history, with mercury hovering at about 100 degrees (37.5 degrees Celsius) across London and the country’s south and midlands. UK’s top leader, 100.6 Fahrenheit (38.1 degrees Celsius)It didn’t quite reach the 101.7 record set in Cambridge in July 2019, but for hot countries it felt like a no-difference distinction.
On the sultry London Underground — most lines are air-conditioned — Georgia McCaid, 22, had a heavy suitcase on his way to the Victoria Bus Station, where he was planning to take a bus to Paris.
“The tube is really hot right now,” McQuade said. But she added, “I don’t want to get Uber because using a lot of cars was the cause of this heat in the first place.”
She expected to encounter even more intense temperatures in Paris. Over the past week, a large amount of heat has burned Italy and Spain, inciting wildfires in France and other parts of Europe before spilling into the English Channel.
On Monday, French firefighters fought two giant wildfires that destroyed 55 square miles of dry pine forest in southwestern France over the past week, forcing about 16,000 people to evacuate.
For Britain, a country known for its cloudy, frequent rains and warm climate, Arizona-style blast furnaces were sufficient to confuse most of the country. It even broke into political debate during the campaign season.
In the United States and other countries accustomed to it, such fever may be rarely recorded. But from schools to public transport to private homes, these climate-critical infrastructures are designed to address them, and people’s bodies are adapting to them.
In the UK, homes, especially old homes, are built to keep warm and their inhabitants are equipped as well. In fact, the British are notorious for not being prepared for all kinds of extreme weather, whether it’s a winter snowstorm or a heavy summer rain, and the sparkling heat of the pavement is no exception.
Some trains were canceled, while others slowed down because the rails could buckle. Luton Airport, north of London, was temporarily closed after the heat caused a “defect” in the runway, forcing flights from some Mediterranean holiday resorts to detour to other airports. I did.
In London, the cast iron chains and pedestals of the Hammersmith Bridge on the Thames were wrapped in reflective foil to protect them from the sun. Previous heat waves could open cracks in iron and collapse a magnificent and corroded 19th-century bridge.
According to London police, a 14-year-old boy went missing on Monday night and was believed to have drowned while swimming on the Thames.
A spokesman said the Royal Air Force had stopped entering and exiting the largest base as a precautionary measure because the tar on the runway may have melted. He added that alternative airfields were being used and Air Force operations were unaffected.
Authorities urged people to work from home on Mondays and Tuesdays, using public transport only when necessary. This is a plea that is reminiscent of the depth of the coronavirus pandemic. However, few homes are air-conditioned, forcing millions of people to choose between a terrible commute or a stuffy home office.
“Our immediate concern is to make the country as good as possible in the next 36 hours,” said Kit Malthaus, Cabinet Minister, who oversees the government’s response. Forecasters warned that Tuesday would be even hotter and the records would be in jeopardy again.
Malthouse defended Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who stayed in the Checkers, his country’s residence, and skipped the Cabinet’s crisis meeting. Malthouse said he was explaining his latest developments to Johnson, who announced his resignation after losing support for his party two weeks ago.
With the Conservative Party in the midst of a spectacular leadership competition to replace Johnson, the weather inevitably affected politics. But whatever the temperature, the fight against climate change is well off the list of priorities.
The UK’s cost of living crisis, at least for now, sets aside the country’s ambitious goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Expressed unresolved questions.
Prince Charles, the successor to the throne of Britain and an avid climate change activist, declared on Monday: “
Extremely high temperatures are becoming more common worldwide, and climate scientists say fossil fuel burning is an important driving force. Scientists have discovered that some of the recent extreme heats the world has experienced would have been virtually impossible without the effects of human-induced climate change.
Some critics claim that Britons habitually overreact to extreme weather events. In February, nine railroad companies canceled service when Storm Eunice struck the country with snow, rain and wind up to 90 mph. Airplanes, buses and ferries were also confused.
Still, on Monday, most Britons dealt with the heat in a well-established way.
British retailers have reported a surge in demand for fans and air conditioning units. A spokeswoman for John Lewis, one of the UK’s largest department stores, said on Sunday that fan sales were up more than 250% year-on-year and air conditioner sales were up more than 525. percent.
According to a 2021 report from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy, there are few data on the number of air-conditioned homes in the UK, but the best estimate is less than 5%.
Hospitals and nursing homes are of particular concern, officials said, with many elderly and other vulnerable patients in non-air-conditioned buildings. Authorities urged the children not to close the school during the final week of the pre-break class as they would remain unsupervised in the heat. This is a directive that some educational districts have ignored.
But in most cases, the Britons endured it all with stoicism. Mona Suleiman, 45, and her friend Zaina Al-Amin, 40, were waiting for the bus in the afternoon sun and watched the temperature rise and rise.
“I’m not worried about myself in this heat,” said Suleiman from Eritrea. “But I’m worried about the children.”
Her apartment got too hot and she was advised to take children aged 6 and 10 home from summer school, but she thought they might be cool there, so they I decided to send it.
Alamine said she and Suleiman, who wore traditional Eritrean dresses and headscarves, didn’t mind the heat of lightweight cotton clothing. But they were worried about getting on the bus. “It’s too difficult,” she said. “There is not enough air.”
Others in London didn’t seem to care much, like the four artists painting graffiti on the murals outside the Trellick Tower in a high-rise condominium. “This is nothing, a companion,” said one. “I’ll be here again tomorrow.”
For a few Londoners, the answer was to go to the beach. Sam Durlaston and Imogen Duffin boarded a noon train from Victoria Station to a seaside resort in Brighton. Both of my friends were 28 and made the impulsive decision to take a break an hour before the train departed.
Radio host Darlaston, wearing a Hawaiian-themed shirt, said he didn’t have to go back to the stuffy studio. “I thought I might have to work,” he said.
The report was contributed by Megan Specia, Stephen Castle, Yuan Ward When Derrick Bryson Taylor In London Constant Mev When Aurelian Breeden In Paris, and Saskia Solomon In Brighton, England.