Rare red heat warning kicks in the UK with temperatures expected to get near 40C
A rare red heat warning has kicked it at 9am London (10am Europe) for large parts of England and Wales, just for the second time ever, with temperatures expected to get close to 40C in some parts of the country.
The warning covers an area stretching from London to Swansea and Somerset to Birmingham, and is due to last until 9pm on Thursday, PA news agency reported.
Meteorologist are expecting that during the peak of the heatwave, the temperature could come close to the UK’s all-time high of 40.3C from July 2022.
Gulp. Stay safe everyone.
Key events
94 million Europeans to experience temperatures above 35C today, AFP estimates show
Jakub Krupa
To quantify it for you, at least 94 million people in Europe are expected to experience temperatures above 35C today, most of them in France and Spain, according to AFP estimates.
More than 350 million people will experience temperatures above 30C.
That’s two-third of the continent’s population – and we are only in June!
It’s time to update our weather forecast for today.
As you can see, large parts of western and central Europe are going to see high 30s and low 40s today.
And if anyone further east, say in Berlin, Prague or Warsaw is tempted to think: oh, that’s not affecting me then – you just wait for the weekend, when central and eastern Europe is about to be hit with the same heatwave as it moves eastwards.
Berlin is set to top 40C on Sunday, while Warsaw and Prague are both expected to see temperatures hit 39C.
‘I don’t get paid if I don’t work’
Nicola Slawson
Maria*, 43, a self-employed sewing teacher originally from Spain who now lives in Amsterdam, has decided not to teach a six-hour class in Utrecht in the Netherlands on Friday because of concerns about the extreme heat.
She teaches in a former shop unit with large windows, no blinds and no air conditioning. Temperatures are forecast to reach 40C in Utrecht.
“It was really hard for me because I’m a people pleaser. I felt bad saying, ‘I’m sorry, but this is too much for my body.’ But I stuck with that feeling and I’m proud of myself for that.”
As a freelancer, cancelling work means losing income.
“I was going to work for six hours and if I don’t work, I don’t get paid,” she says. “If you’re self-employed and you don’t take care of your health, nobody else will.”
Maria believes many people in northern Europe are still underestimating how much the climate is changing.
“When you talk to people, they say, ‘Oh, but it’s only a few days.’ But it isn’t really only a few days any more. It’s getting hotter and hotter.”
Having lived in London for 11 years before moving to the Netherlands, she says she has watched summers become noticeably hotter.
“My first summer in London felt like there was no summer at all,” she says. “Then, year by year, it got hotter. Now London has summers that feel much more like Spain, and places like the Netherlands are getting temperatures that used to be associated with southern Europe.”
She worries that buildings, workplaces and public transport systems are not adapting quickly enough.
“I think people are closing their eyes to what is happening,” she says.
“It’s obvious that climate change is here. Hopefully more measures will be put in place in the future.”
*Name has been changed
‘I know what the weather should be like in Paris, and it is not this’
Jane Clinton
Clara, 31, a librarian from Paris, France, says she would like to see a law passed to ensure workers can stop working when temperatures get too high.
At present, there are no maximum temperature thresholds in France.
“I work in an old, unrenovated building, which is south-facing, with poor insulation,” she says. “There’s no air conditioning, and as it is a public building, we of course cannot leave the windows open at night to help cool it down.”
She says they have small plastic fans, but once she steps away from them, the heat hits her, making it difficult to work. Getting to and from work is also uncomfortable.
Clara says train services have been reduced “because the heat is damaging the rails and carriages”. She describes her commute to work as “boiling” and says she has felt unwell while travelling.
Clara, who lives in a south-facing “old apartment” with poor insulation, says the temperature in her home has reached 30C.
“I know it is likely to get higher until the end of the heatwave, which causes me great anxiety as I struggle to ventilate it and can’t sleep at night because it’s too warm. I don’t have A/C, just a fan, but that overheats as I have it on so much.”
Clara, who was born in Paris, says she is very worried about the wider picture concerning the extreme heat.
“I know what the weather should be like in Paris, and it is not this,” she says.
“We are hearing everywhere that this is an unprecedented event and likely to get worse, but my government is doing nothing. The only advice we’ve received is to drink more water. There are few other official guidelines, and no set temperature at which work is cancelled. Everything is offloaded on individuals; it’s on us to do the right thing and protect ourselves while the country burns around us.”
‘It’s dangerous’: how UK schools, care homes and other workplaces are coping in soaring heat
Patrick Butler, Richard Adams, Andrew Gregory, Amelia Hill, Steven Morris, Gwyn Topham and Matthew Weaver
With temperatures in the UK approaching record levels for June, people are being advised to avoid exercise and unnecessary travel.
So how do you even work in this heat?
We look at how various sectors of the economy are coping with unprecedented temperatures, and how working practices will have to adapt to increasingly frequent heatwaves that are predicted to be longer and more intense owing to the global climate emergency.
For example, school leaders say it is lucky the heatwave arrived after the summer GCSE and A-level exam season, just as May’s heatwave coincided with most schools being closed for half-term.
“We’re dodging a few bullets, but I’m not sure how much longer we can keep dodging,” said Jo Rowley, a deputy headteacher in Stafford..
Red alert for 16 cities in Italy as extreme temperatures expected today
Italy’s health ministry issued “red alerts” for 16 cities on Wednesday with major cities such as Rome, Milan, Florence and Turin affected, AP reported.
The “bollino rosso” red alert signals emergency conditions that can affect not only vulnerable people but also healthy adults.
Temperatures could reach highs of 41C in Florence and 38C in Milan, while Rome and Naples are forecast to remain below 36C.
It’s not even midday in continental Europe, and some parts of France are already reporting temperatures above 36C (Bordeaux) and even near 38C (Nantes).
Paris is reporting 35C.
‘The heat was at a different level’
Jane Clinton
Alex*, 37, who works in EU institutions in Brussels and is from Spain, says that while he is used to high temperatures, he has seen how other countries are struggling with insufficient infrastructure to cope with extreme heat.
He says temperatures of “38C, 39C, even 40C are not unheard of in Southern Spain in July and August”.
“I have lived in Northern Europe, and these regions are definitely not used to these temperatures,” he says.
“I think it is a big shock for the local population, and for the infrastructure too. It’s just not adapted to this heat. Air conditioning in restaurants and shops is not as common as it is in Spain, so 40C in Spain to me feels relatively manageable, also, because I think the climate is drier, whereas 40C, 42C, as we had in France, is very difficult.”
Alex was on holiday in Madrid over the weekend and drove back to Brussels with his A/C “on full power”.
“I drove through western France, and all the road informational screens recommended rest and hydration,” he says. “This level of heat is something that I think, particularly in central and southern Spain, we are more or less used to, at least in my lifetime.”
He says he did the same journey “a few years ago” in July and was able to stop off and climb the Grande Dune du Pilat in the Arcachon Bay area, south west France. This time, however, the heat was so intense that they had to wait several hours before they could make the climb.
“I remember going up there in July, and it was beautiful,” he says.
“This year I had to wait until sunset until 9.30pm because of the heat – it wasn’t safe to go there at 5pm, which was my original intention. Compared to other trips, the heat was at a different level this year.”
*Name has been changed
Jakub Krupa
The Guardian’s Jane Clinton has been speaking to some people affected by the heatwave.
Let’s check what they’re saying.
Lib Dems urge government to open ‘cool hubs’ to help vulnerable people at UK braces for extreme heat
Over in the UK, the Liberal Democrats have called for the government to immediately open air-conditioned public buildings as “cool hubs” for vulnerable people during the heatwave, PA news agency reported.
They said gyms, leisure centres, libraries and other buildings could offer relief for those particularly at risk from the extreme heat.
The party also urged ministers to urgently prepare the country for more extreme temperatures by investing in cooling for hospitals, care homes and schools – echoing a call by the independent advisory Climate Change Committee on helping the UK adapt to global warming, PA said.
Earlier, the UK Met Office warned that a combination of extreme heat and humidity could have an impact on public health, infrastructure, power and water supplies.
Europe heatwave ‘putting people’s health at risk,’ WHO chief warns
Head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that Europe’s heatwave is “putting people’s health are risk.”
Here is his message this morning:
“Europe’s heatwave is closing schools and putting people’s health at risk.
The data are clear: temperatures across Europe are rising at roughly twice the global average rate, increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme heat in the future.
We cannot afford further delay. Leaders must prioritise investment in climate-resilient health systems, while also accelerating #ClimateAction and mitigating the drivers of the climate crisis.”
Europe battles record-breaking heat: is this the new normal? – The Latest
Europe is dealing with a debilitating heatwave, with schools closed, trains cancelled and France holding an emergency meeting after heat-related deaths.
And António Guterres, the UN chief, is urging the world to act on fossil fuels as the continent braces for record-breaking heat.
Lucy Hough speaks to Europe environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan about the extraordinary heatwave hitting the continent this week.
Heat-related incident leaves 68,000 households with no electricity in northern France
Meanwhile in France, the heatwave caused the country’s first major power outage of the latest bout of extreme weather, AFP reported.
A heat-related incident with a transformer left around 68,000 households on Wednesday without electricity in the northwestern Finistere department, the authorities said.
Rare red heat warning kicks in the UK with temperatures expected to get near 40C
A rare red heat warning has kicked it at 9am London (10am Europe) for large parts of England and Wales, just for the second time ever, with temperatures expected to get close to 40C in some parts of the country.
The warning covers an area stretching from London to Swansea and Somerset to Birmingham, and is due to last until 9pm on Thursday, PA news agency reported.
Meteorologist are expecting that during the peak of the heatwave, the temperature could come close to the UK’s all-time high of 40.3C from July 2022.
Gulp. Stay safe everyone.
Spare a though all key workers who have no choice but have to work physically and outdoors in this weather.
Here is a postal worker from Paris (33C at the moment, but expected to get to 39C later).
And a construction worker in London (28C at 9:15am, but going up to 35C later).
The French city of Bordeaux is one of those expected to be most severely hit by extreme temperatures today.
It’s 33C there and it’s only 10am, and Météo France is expecting the temperatures of up to… 42C later today.
So here is your weather forecast for today, with some of the key European cities:
Paris 41C
Bordeaux 39C
Madrid 38C
Frankfurt 37C
Brussels 36C
Rome 35C
Bologna 35C
London 34C
Amsterdam 34C
Zurich 32C
Prague 32C
Berlin 31C
Barcelona 31C
Essentially, if you are anywhere between Lisbon (24C) and Warsaw (27C), it will be super hot.
Meteo France is showing that all of France is expected to go well above 30C this morning, with two-thirds of the country covered by a red weather alert.
Jakub Krupa
It’s Jakub Krupa here, taking over from Taz Ali.
With the heatwave dominating the headlines across Europe, we will run a special edition of our daily Europe Live blog today focused just on this issue.
I will bring you all the latest here. Good morning.
The French environment minister, Monique Barbut, said the heatwave in France could continue until 14 July.
“Next week should see a relative pause,” she told the French radio channel France Inter.
“But Météo-France tells us there is a strong likelihood that, from the following week onwards, we will see a return to extreme heat, which could last until 14 July.”
