Much of Europe is baking in a heat wave that has pushed temperatures into the mid-40s in some regions, with wildfires raging across the tinder-dried country in Portugal, Spain, France and Croatia on Thursday (local time).
The highest recorded temperature in Britain was 38.7°C, recorded at Cambridge University Botanic Garden on July 25, 2019. The Met Office said it was now forecasting temperatures of 40°C in Britain for the first time.
“Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely to be early next week,” said Paul Gundersen, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, predicting a 50% chance of temperatures above 40°C and an 80% chance of reaching a new maximum temperature.
“Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas,” he said in a statement. “This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure.”
In addition, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has raised the heat warning to level 4 for England for Monday and Tuesday.
On the Met Office website, a level 4 red alert is defined as a national emergency and is used when a heatwave is “so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend beyond the health and social care system. At this level, illness can and death can occur in fit and healthy people, and not just in high-risk groups.”
The Met Office said “substantial” changes in work practices and daily routines would be required and that there was a high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, which could lead to localized loss of power, water or cell phone services.
“It’s harder to deal with these kinds of temperatures in the UK because we’re just not used to them,” Hannah Cloke, a climate expert at the University of Reading, told Reuters, referring to the generally temperate, humid climate of the country.
“It’s about that experience of the heat and we don’t have houses that are designed to stay cool, we don’t have air conditioning and our infrastructure isn’t built for the heat at all.”