প্রকাশ: 20/07/2022
Britain recorded its hottest day ever on Tuesday, with the temperature
exceeding 40C (104F) as a heatwave gripping Europe intensified, forcing train
tracks to buckle and fuelling a spate of fires across London.
The Met Office said a new
provisional record temperature of 40.3C (104.5F) was recorded in Coningsby, in
central England, with 34 sites across the country experiencing temperatures in
excess of the previous high of 38.7C (101.7F) recorded in 2019.
Stephen Belcher at the Met Office
said he had not expected to see such temperatures in Britain in his career.
"Research conducted here at
the Met Office has demonstrated that it's virtually impossible for the UK to
experience 40C in an undisrupted climate but climate change driven by
greenhouse gases has made these extreme temperatures possible," he said.
Train services on major routes
from London up the east and west coast of the country were cancelled,
electricity companies reported mass outages and normally busy city centres
appeared quiet. Network Rail tweeted a number of pictures showing large bends
and kinks in rail tracks.
London Fire Brigade declared a
major incident and urged people to stop having barbecues, as hundreds of
firefighters battled blazes across the capital.
To the east, a large fire
engulfed homes in the village of Wennington, with flames tearing across about
40 hectares (100 acres) of neighbouring tinder-dry fields. Elsewhere large
grassland areas around the capital caught fire, billowing smoke over major
roads and nearby areas.
London's Ambulance Service said
it had been dealing with 400 calls an hour because of the extreme heat.
"We are seeing an increase
in the number of patients experiencing heat exposure, breathing difficulties,
dizziness and fainting," said Peter Rhodes, the deputy director of
ambulance operations.
Britain, which can struggle to
maintain key transport services in extreme heat or snow, had been put on a
state of national emergency over the unprecedented temperatures.
"My thanks go to all the
firefighters and frontline services who are working incredibly hard to keep us
safe on this scorching day," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter.
'DO NOT TRAVEL'
Transport minister Grant Shapps
said there had been a considerable amount of travel disruption.
"Infrastructure, much of
which was built from the Victorian times, just wasn't built to withstand this
type of temperature," he said.
Operator Network Rail advised
passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary.
"Extreme Heat: All services
stopped. Do not come to the station," Avanti West Coast, which runs
services from London to cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, said
on Twitter.
Climate scientists said the
once-unthinkable temperature in London was likely to become more common in
coming years.
Sony Kapoor, a climate and
macro-economic professor at European University Institute, said he had long
thought that people underestimated the physical impacts of climate change in
contemporary times. "But even I never thought we would see 40 degree Celsius
in London in 2022," he said.
The arrival of a searing heatwave
that first sparked wildfires across Europe before arriving in Britain has
turned the spotlight on to "net zero" pledges made by the candidates
running to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
After Johnson championed the move
to net zero status when Britain held the United Nations COP26 climate change
summit in 2021, some of the candidates to replace him have appeared more
lukewarm and rated other challenges facing the country as their priority.
After Tuesday's heat, the Met
Office said the temperature would fall on Wednesday, however it warned there
could be heavy thunderstorms.
- Reuters
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