Tuesday’s temperature eclipsed Britain’s previous record of 38.7 degrees Celsius recorded in Cambridge, eastern England, in 2019. ‘Temperatures in the UK have crossed 40 degrees Celsius for the first time, and temperatures are still rising in many places’ – warned the Met Office.
Meanwhile, experts say climate change is the cause of the heat wave. Experts say extreme climate change in the coming years will further increase the temperature.
The rise in temperature has caused extreme heat across much of England, prompting a red alert. In this situation some railway lines were closed as a precaution and schools in some other areas were closed. All trains from London’s busy King’s Cross station have been cancelled. This has inconvenienced many passengers.
also read: Heat wave to repeat at least till 2060; UN with warning
“It’s very disappointing,” said American tourist Deborah Byrne, who was planning a trip to Scotland, as she reacted to the cancellation of trains as temperatures soared.
Meanwhile, roads and runways are melting and rail tracks are bending as temperatures rise. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps stated that the country’s transport facilities are not built for these temperatures.
forest fire
The west of Britain is generally cold and wet even in summer. But last day the temperature here was above 40 degree Celsius.
But Britain was greatly relieved by the heat wave moving north-east and a cool breeze from the Atlantic. Due to this, the red alert announced by the meteorological authorities was withdrawn.
As the temperature is likely to rise above 40 degrees Celsius in the east and south of the country and strong thunderstorms are expected, the authorities have announced an orange alert in around 12 departments.
This is the second heat wave to hit parts of Europe in recent weeks. It caused wildfires in France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, causing large tracts of land to burn.
Firefighters struggled to contain two large fires in southwest France. It caused widespread destruction and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
About 1,700 firefighters across the country are still battling to contain the two fires, which have so far burned 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of forest.
‘It’s very heartbreaking,’ said Patrick Davet, the mayor of La Teste-de-Buch, the site of the mass evacuation. “Economically, it will hurt the people a lot and it will also harm the city because it is a tourist city and the city needs tourists,” he said.
In Britain, hundreds of firefighters using special vehicles and waterbombing planes are trying to contain the blaze in Finisterre, an area where wildfires are not common. Several small fires were also reported across the region.
death
Prosecutors in the southwestern city of Bordeaux said they had detained a man suspected of starting the fire on Monday. More than 10 fires broke out on Tuesday, including in the northwestern province of Zamora, nearly 10 days after a new heat wave hit Spain. There was a big fire here last month too.
Known as one of Europe’s largest wolf sanctuaries, fires in June destroyed nearly 30,000 hectares of land.
About 6,000 people had to be evacuated after thousands of hectares of grasslands and forests were engulfed in flames, authorities said.
In addition, train services between Madrid and Galicia in the northwest of the country were suspended due to fires on both sides of the track. Many people have died in fires in recent days. A 50-year-old office worker died of sunburn in Madrid.
Meanwhile, more than 1,400 firefighters are battling the blazes in Portugal, despite temperatures dropping significantly in recent days. Meanwhile, a 70-year-old couple reportedly died trying to escape a fire in their car.
But despite the slight drop in temperature, the country is still on alert for forest fires. Last Thursday, 47 degree Celsius was recorded. The fire had already killed two others, injured around 60 people and destroyed 12,000 to 15,000 hectares of land.
also read: Burned Europe; Highest temperature in 200 years; What causes a heat wave?
the heat
The Royal Meteorological Institute is likely to issue warnings as temperatures could reach 40C in Belgium, near the French border. Meanwhile, authorities decided to offer free entry to over-65s on Tuesday at museums in Brussels to provide relief from the heat.
In the west of Germany, temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius. On Monday, two firefighters were injured while fighting a wildfire in the mountainous region of Saxony.
The heat recorded so far has raised fears among the population, with the president of the German Farmers Association warning that it could cause ‘huge losses’ in food production.
Henning Christ, a farmer who grows wheat and other crops in Brandenburg, told AFP that “the average annual yield of his farm has dropped by 20 percent.”
“It has not rained for months and the temperature is very high,” he said. ‘Drought and dry weather have become a habit for us. But Henning Christ said this year was very unusual.
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