Updated at 18:00 BST Important events: Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Why is the UK so unprepared for extreme heat and what can be done? Environment Editor Damian Carrington reports here:
RAF Brize Norton’s runway melts, disrupting flights
Flight activity was also halted at RAF Brize Norton, with Sky News reporting that part of the runway had melted. An RAF spokesman said: “During this period of extreme temperatures, flight safety remains our top priority, so aircraft are using alternative airports in accordance with a long-established plan. “This means there is no impact on RAF operations.” Updated at 17.58 BST People are being warned not to exercise over the next few days as record temperatures are forecast to create deadly conditions. A lot of heat is generated by the body during exercise and this combined with the temperatures could see even the healthiest people suffer from heat exhaustion, experts told the PA news agency. Dr Eunice Lo, climatologist at the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute for the Environment, said: Everyone is at risk and we need to be aware and take precautions and certainly not look at these as normal summer days or something to go out and enjoy. Mike Tipton, professor of human and applied physiology at the University of Portsmouth, said a person can go from giving off as much heat as a 90-watt light bulb when at rest, to giving off as much heat as a two-kilowatt fire when exercising. He added: We produce a lot of heat when we exercise. And we’re now at a temperature where… actually people are going to warm up, just going about their daily activities inside the house or outside, and cooking, things like that. And so fitter people undoubtedly do better in the heat, but we still see fit people who suffer particularly from heat exhaustion So the recommendation would just be for the next couple of days, when we’re now in record temperatures, is to just stop exercising.” Updated at 17:30 BST
Luton Airport has been closed as part of the runway is reportedly melting
White Topham Luton Airport has temporarily closed flights after a runway fault – believed to be due to record temperatures. Flights that took off earlier today bound for Luton have been diverted to alternative airports such as Stansted. Passengers on an EasyJet flight from Catania, Sicily were told by the captain that they could not land at Luton because parts of the runway had actually melted. Updated at 17.59 BST This from BBC North West Tonight presenter Roger Johnson. On rail, services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield have been suspended until further notice due to the extreme heat. Updated at 16.54 BST Downing Street said the NHS was “coping well” with the extreme heat. Asked for an update on the heatwave, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: They had their Cobra meeting today where they received updates from relevant public sector groups on issues such as health, transport and schools. We have yet to see significant impacts affecting these areas. There is no sign of mass school closures, for example, the NHS is coping well and obviously there are additional restrictions, and Network Rail and others have already taken some mitigation measures with some reduced service and speed limits. Of the victims, he said they “have not been reported to us centrally at this point,” but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any. From this comment it appears that the Downing Street spokesperson is not including the four water-related deaths we reported on earlier in this blog. Updated at 16.55 BST Major pressures on ambulance services in England are being made worse by extreme heat, according to the health secretary. Steve Barclay said emergency measures had been put in place across the health system, before telling MPs in the Commons: Even before this heatwave, ambulance services in England were under significant pressure from increased demand, as they were across the UK. The added pressure on our healthcare system from Covid-19, especially in accident and emergency services, has increased the workload of ambulances, increased the average length of stay in hospital and contributed to a record number of calls. Overall this has caused significant stresses which are now being exacerbated by this extreme heat. Updated at 16.55 BST Ireland recorded its hottest temperature in more than a century as parts of Dublin reached 33C, according to Met Eireann. A state yellow high temperature warning remains in place across the country as it faces another scorching day. Figures from Met Eireann show temperatures soared to 33C at Phoenix Park in the capital on Monday, temporarily making it the hottest July day on record. It also breaks the high temperature record for the 21st and 20th centuries. He said: Phoenix Park has broken its 21st record high temperature of 33C, which is Ireland’s highest of 2022 so far and 12.8C above normal. That’s just 0.3C below the all-time record of 135 years set at Kilkenny Castle in 1887. Temperatures could rise even further. Here are the latest air temperatures 🥵 📈 The highest air temperature recorded today was 33.0 C in Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin. This is a new all-time national record for the month of July and the highest air temperature recorded in Ireland in the 20th and 21st centuries🗓️ pic.twitter.com/kVR40KU6lS — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 18, 2022 Updated at 16.56 BST
