The UK experienced its hottest night on record as it braces for another unprecedented day on Tuesday, with temperatures predicted to hit 40C in a heatwave exacerbated by climate change.
The Met Office has forecast temperatures to reach as high as 41C in some parts of England, where an extreme heat warning is in place, which would make the country hotter than Jamaica, the Maldives and Barbados.
The mercury provisionally hit 25.9 in Emley Moor, West Yorkshire, easily exceeding the previous daily minimum of 23.9C, recorded in Brighton in 1990.
The mercury peaked at 38.1C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on Monday, making it the hottest day of the year and the third hottest day on record, after 38.7C in Cambridge, in 2019, and 38.5C in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003.
Scotland and Wales are also expected to have their hottest days on record.
Temperatures overnight did not fall below 25C in some places.
🌡️ It has provisionally been the warmest night on record in the UK ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 19, 2022
Temperatures didn't fall below 25°C in places, exceeding the previous highest daily minimum record of 23.9°C, recorded in Brighton on 3rd August 1990#heatwave #heatwave2022 #cantsleep pic.twitter.com/k6refVdQaC
Heatwaves have been made hotter, longer and more frequent by climate breakdown, and experts have warned of the need to adapt homes and cities in the UK for a future of more intense – and deadly – summer heat.
Most transport routes across England and Wales will be affected by the hot weather on Tuesday, according to National Rail, with customers advised to travel only if “absolutely necessary”.
Network Rail said: “There will be delays, cancellations and last-minute changes to train services due to the unprecedented record heat on those days.”
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said issues on the rails and roads will continue for decades during extreme heatwaves.
Asked how long it would take to upgrade existing rail infrastructure to be more resilient, he told Sky News: “Decades, actually, to replace it all. Ditto with Tarmac on the roads.
“There’s a long process of replacing it and upgrading it to withstand temperatures, either very hot or sometimes much colder than we’ve been used to, and these are the impacts of global warming.”
Southern, South Eastern, South Western Railway and Great Western Railway were among the dozens of train companies running significantly reduced services across the country.
Transport for London (TfL) said London’s rail network would also be running a reduced service on Tuesday due to safety restrictions put into place to deal with the heat.
Elsewhere, council gritters were on standby to spread light dustings of sand on melting roads.
Emergency services and the government have repeated urgent warnings about the dangers of trying to keep cool after several tragedies in waterways and reservoirs during the heatwave.
The family of 13-year-old Robert Hattersley said they were “absolutely devastated” after he died when he got into trouble in the River Tyne in Northumberland on Sunday.
Emergency services also confirmed the deaths of a 16-year-old boy in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, a 16-year-old boy in Bray Lake near Maidenhead, Berkshire, and a 50-year-old man in a reservoir near Leeds in similar circumstances.
There have been warnings of pressures on hospitals from the extreme temperatures, and concerns ambulance services would face rising numbers of calls as the heat peaks on Tuesday afternoon.
The UK Health Security Agency issued a level 4 heat-health alert – described as an “emergency” – and the UK is under its first red extreme heat warning for a large part of England, issued by the Met Office.
