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Britain sizzles in 28 degrees

Emma Alberici for AM

Story Added : 01st July 2009

Britain is in the grip of an official heatwave, with media offering health warnings and advice about how to behave, what to wear and drink.

All of this at a time when the temperature across most parts of England has not even reached 30 degrees.

The last time Britain's Met Office declared a heatwave was in 2006.

Virtually every conversation in Britain starts with talk about the weather and it is a particularly hot topic in London's Regents Park, where it's 32 degrees - so far, the hottest day of the year.

Semi-clothed people have gathered in Regents Park to kick a ball around under the sun.

"I don't actually own any shorts in London, so I'm in jeans," a parkgoer said.

They could not remember the last time Britain had heatwave conditions.

"We go into supermarkets to cool down now instead of warm up, how it usually is," he said.

The UK's heatwave plan was devised after the temperature reached 38.5 in Kent in 2003 and across Britain, at least 2,000 elderly people died from heat-related conditions.

Met Office forecaster Dave Britten says they are preparing for potential health risks with the heatwave.

"The Met Office issues a heat health watch on behalf of the Department of Health and this really looks at the risk of reaching heatwave conditions across the UK," he said.

"What we're doing in terms of a level 2, we're providing predictions of reaching certain threshold temperatures across the UK; for example, in London that would be two consecutive daytime temperatures in excess of 32 and not falling below 18 degrees Celsius at night."

A UK television news report said "parts of England and Wales are in the grip of a heatwave with the midlands and the south seeing the highest temperatures. NHS staff have been warned to expect a surge in elderly and other vulnerable."

Pictures of the gorillas at London's zoo being given cool drinks and ice cream were broadcast on the evening news and the BBC's Antony Bartrom in Nottingham could not believe that the temperature had soared to 28 degrees.

"It's still pretty blazing hot here in Nottingham where it's been a hot, muggy day. Temperatures rising to 28 degrees according to the sensors on top of the BBC building here in Nottingham and the humidity has been up to 50 per cent," he said.

"So the hospital says it's already seen plenty of instances where people have come in with breathing problems. They're on alert for people with heart and kidney problems as well."

The weather in London today is still far from extreme by international standards, and if this is a heatwave, pity the poor people of al Aziziyah in Libya on September the 13, 1922, when the temperature reached a truly scorching 57.8 degrees.

Story Added by ABC.
Date Added : 01st July 2009

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