A picture of a Queen’s Guard sentry being given a sip of water outside Buckingham Palace is the defining image on Tuesday’s front pages, as the heatwave put the climate crisis in fresh focus.
All but a couple of the front pages feature the picture of the guardsman in his bearskin hat taking much-needed relief from the heat which on Monday topped 37.4 degrees in west London and a nationwide high of 38.1C in Santon Downham in Suffolk.
The prospect of an even hotter day on Tuesday provides a flurry of warnings on the front pages.
“Record highs, travel chaos, schools close ... and it’s going to get hotter”, says the Telegraph with a large image of the sentry from the Irish Guards on the front. A second story on the front carries comments from Prince Charles’ that the record-breaking heat had proved him right on the climate change “emergency”.
The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 18, 2022
'Record highs, travel chaos, schools close ... and it’s going to get hotter'#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4O6L2Y pic.twitter.com/KmVvaf1bSz
A Met Office heatmap of Britain makes for a striking front page in the i along with the headline “Earth sends a warning”.
Tuesday’s i: “Earth sends a warning” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/uKzTRHIdGS
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 18, 2022
The Sun has a closeup image of a possibly different Irish guardsman visibly sweating under the famous headwear. “Britain is melting”, says the main headline, with subheads reading “Record 41C ‘to hit today’” and “Runways KO’d by sun”.
On tomorrow's front page: Brits face MORE weather chaos as nation braces for another scorcher.https://t.co/mZPkSMdW3H pic.twitter.com/FMDxPeOoWX
— The Sun (@TheSun) July 18, 2022
The Guardian has a composite of different images from around the country but goes with a more politically focused headline: “Johnson accused of ‘checking out’ as Britain swelters in searing heat”.
Guardian front page, Tuesday 19 July 2022: Johnson accused of 'checking out' as Britain swelters in searing heat pic.twitter.com/lLPy4LRCzw
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 18, 2022
The Mirror’s headline is “Record baker” over a picture of sunbathers in sunny North Tyneside and the subhead “Hottest day today with more to come”.
Tuesday's front page: Record baker #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/SfLbeeEXKS pic.twitter.com/EKRdDDrTRl
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) July 18, 2022
The Times leads with “Tory race thrown wide open” after the latest leadership ballot saw Liz Truss close the gap on Penny Mordaunt. It also has the weather story with the headline “Crazy heat stops trains and melts runways”.
Times: Tory race thrown wide open #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/6Nkvof7BLK
— George Mann 🫧⚒️🫧 (@sgfmann) July 18, 2022
The Mail also leads with the Tory race, claiming “Mordaunt’s No10 bid hits buffers”. At the top of the page it carries the picture of the guardsman with the headline “Sunny day snowflake Britain had a meltdown”, pointing to inside coverage that appears to lean towards the sceptical variety.
Mail: Sunny day snowflake Britain had a meltdown #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/D8Eivzbw71
— George Mann 🫧⚒️🫧 (@sgfmann) July 18, 2022
It’s the same in the Express where the headline has a cunning reference to the weather: “Can Truss turn up heat to battle Rishi in run-off?”
Front page: Can Truss turn up heat to battle Rishi in run off? #TomorrowsPaperToday
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) July 18, 2022
Story: https://t.co/PxJiCUd6mc pic.twitter.com/s1jbRK3072
The Metro warns the country to “Get ready for… hottest day ever” with forecasts of 41C in some parts on Tuesday.
Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰
— Metro (@MetroUK) July 18, 2022
GET READY FOR... HOTTEST DAY EVER
🔴 Airports closed, roads melting but worst yet to come
🔴 Temperatures set to soar to record highs today, even topping 40°C#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/jvhS3UFKTq
The Financial Times uses the guardsman for its picture story on the front and the headline “Drop guard: Britain braced for more heat”. The main story is about the Cambridge-based tech firm Arm: “Arm’s London listing plan on hold after Johnson’s fall sparks turmoil”.
Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Tuesday 19 July https://t.co/W8q0lxASU8 pic.twitter.com/9MbZvlLcm0
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) July 18, 2022
