Extreme heatwave in England

 

Monday and Tuesday, 18th and 19th of July 2022 saw record temperatures in  the UK when a temperature of over 40° C was recorded.

The previous week had been mostly hot and the news was full of warnings about the forthcoming extreme heat. The biggest problem is that the UK is not geared up for heat. Houses are designed for cold weather, not hot. Very few houses have air conditioning or even built in fans.

11 July it was 32° C in London. 15 July this weather map showed forecasted temperatures -

Over the weekend there were constant reminders and of course the inevitable news that transport would be disrupted as roads and rails etc can't cope with extreme heat.

Mon 18 July the highest ever tem;perature in UK was recorded -

And that night, the temperature didn't drop below 25° C in London.

Tue 19 broke the record of the previous day, with temperatures of over 40° C, the first time ever for the UK. At least it was a dry heat, about 18% humidity.

Phewwwwwwwwww.

Late that evening the heat started to lessen but it was still a very hot night, especially as the buildings hadn't had a chance to cool down. And sadly there were many fires around London, with homes and businesses destroyed.

Map from Sky News -

A major fire in Wennington -

Rain and thunderstorms were forecast, but didn't happen. Thankfully Wed 20th only reached 26° C .