Britain has faced train cancellations, travel disruption and record-breaking hot weather amid a spring heatwave, with experts raising the alarm that the country will not be able to cope with future spells of extreme heat.
The record for the hottest day in May has been broken again, with the mercury hitting 35.1°C at Kew Garden on Tuesday.
It has exceeded Monday’s provisional all-time hottest meteorological spring temperature of 34.8°C, also recorded at the south-west London location.
‘We’re not prepared for this’
Despite warnings that the UK is set to experience extreme heat more often as greenhouse gases trap heat and prevent the planet from cooling, experts say infrastructure, policy and attitudes are not changing fast enough.
“We’re currently projected to have 50 per cent likelihood of exceeding 40°C within the next 10 years again in the UK, and then by 2050 it’s expected that we would experience above 40°C temperatures about every three to 10 years.
“So that’s a lot more frequently, and we’re not prepared for this,” said Dr Chloe Brimicome, a climate scientist at University of Oxford.
Dr Raquel Nunes, an expert in natural hazards and associate professor in health and environment at Warwick University, said: “From a resilience and policy perspective, the UK still approaches heat too reactively rather than systematically and proactively.
“In terms of society we don’t see heat as a threat.”
Experts say society does not see heat as enough of a threat (Photo: Kerry Davies/Daily Mail)The UK Health Security Agency said amber heat-health alerts, which warn of a threat to life, will remain in place until 5pm on Thursday for the South West, South East, London, East and West Midlands and the East of England.
Yellow heat-health alerts have been issued for Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and North East.
Dr Nunes warned there is a risk health services could become overwhelmed this summer if there is a repeat of the extreme heat, with some hospitals, care homes and other healthcare settings unable to minimise the impact of the weather on the people they support.
Tube passengers pass underneath hot weather health advice messages outside the Canary Wharf Underground Station in London (Photo: REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett)Impact on infrastructure
Infrastructure around the country has already been buckling under the pressure of the unprecedented May heat.
Train services across Britain have been cancelled and delayed due to soaring temperatures, with Network Rail imposing a series of speed restrictions on tracks to keep passengers safe, and train operators reporting multiple faults with signalling equipment.
Rail passengers have faced cancellations and delays across the rail network due to the heat (Photo: Kerry Davies/Daily Mail)Last week the Climate Change Committee called for a raft of measures to protect Britons against worsening heat, including maximum temperature regulations to protect workers and air conditioning in hospitals, care homes, schools and in the homes of vulnerable people.
Dr Brimicome said there is a need for legislation around air conditioning to ensure the most vulnerable people have “priority access” and that units are energy efficient.
While the hot weather has seen crowds flock to UK beaches, lidos and outdoor spaces to make the most of the sunshine, experts say there are not enough areas for people to shelter.
“One of the things that we don’t do so well in this country is make sure there’s plenty of shade when it’s hot and sunny, especially this early in the year,” said Professor Richard Betts, a Met Office fellow and Chair in climate impacts at the University of Exeter.
People enjoy the hot weather on Bournemouth beach in Dorset (Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA)Wildfire risk
He added that there is also a need to get used to taking more care with discarded cigarettes and disposable barbecues as wildfires are another heat-related threat the UK is at risk of failing to prepare for.
“We’re not used to hot, dry conditions being what we call fire weather. When it’s super hot and dry, a fire can start very easily just from the smallest, smallest spark,” he said.
Humid heatwaves are also expected to increase in the UK in future, and it is this type of heat that can make even 30°C feel different to the heat in warmer parts of the globe such as South Asia or the Middle East, according to Dr Akshay Deoras, a senior research scientist at the University of Reading.
A sign warning against the use of barbecues due to the fire risk is seen in Richmond Park over the bank holiday weekend (Photo: Brook Mitchell/AFP/Getty)Tuesday is set to be the peak of the heatwave although temperatures will continue to be warm throughout the week.
“Temperatures will start easing off from tomorrow, but they will still remain quite warm – warmer than what it is normally at this time of the year,” said Dr Deoras. “By the end of this week, we should start getting some fresh air from the west, and then that’s going to allow temperatures to cool down next week.”
The Met Office’s chief forecaster Andy Page said the “exceptional” late-spring heat will continue for much of this week, with more “tropical nights” expected.
“[Monday] night provisionally recorded the warmest May night on record, and we’re likely to see further very warm nights in the south over the coming days.
“There is a chance a few places will experience a ‘tropical night’ in the south of England and in Wales tonight, which is where temperatures don’t fall below 20°C.”
The UK has recorded its all-time hottest meteorological spring temperature (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA)Isolated intense thunderstorms could bring disruption to a few places, the Met Office said as it issued a yellow warning for parts of the South West, West Midlands, East Midlands and East of England until 10pm on Tuesday.
Page said: “We’ll then see a gradual change later in the week, with temperatures easing slightly, though still above average, before a more marked change to near-normal temperatures by Sunday and an increased chance of showers and some longer spells of rain.”
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