UK temperature records broken as Shapps warns of ‘decades’ to prepare for extreme temperatures
The UK experienced its highest ever summer temperature of 39.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according to the Met Office, as a heatwave enveloped the country and caused cockroaches, according to the Met Office. tourism on a large scale.
The interim record at Charlwood, in Surrey, eclipsed the previous all-time high of 38.7C, set in Cambridge in 2019. Forecasters have warned that temperatures are expected to exceed 40C at the end of the day.
The record was set after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned it could take “decades” to make Britain’s transport system more resilient to extreme heat waves.
Rail lines across England saw a significant reduction in service on Tuesday, with cancellations on lines running north of London as extreme temperatures overwhelmed infrastructure designed for maximum temperatures of 35 °C.
The Met Office also said the country experienced perhaps its warmest night ever on Monday, with temperatures as high as 25 degrees Celsius in some areas, beating the previous record set in In 1990 it was 23.9 degrees Celsius.
Bob Ward, director of policy and communications at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, said the record temperatures were “a harbinger of things to come” and that the fulfillment of commitments has not Weaker performance will cause worse pain for the Future.
National Rail advised customers to travel only if it was “truly necessary” on Tuesday and warned of delays and last-minute schedule changes.
Transport for London, which operates the capital’s underground network, said journeys were down 30% from a week ago when commuters heeded advice to stay at home.
All services running north to York on the East Coast Main Street from London’s King’s Cross station have been cancelled. The station’s concourse, which handles 220,000 passengers a day, is empty, with departure boards showing long lines of canceled services.
Heat-absorbing steel rails are prone to warping and sag, increasing the risk of derailment. On Monday, some rails reached 62C, according to Network Rail.
Luton Airport had to be grounded on Monday night, with all flights canceled due to heat failures on its runways.
Shapps told Sky News the infrastructure took decades to build, citing examples of the millions of miles of roads that the runways would need to replace. This week councils placed crushers to spread sand on the melting highway.
He said the head of Network Rail consulted him three years ago about elevated rail lines, which also tend to sag in the heat.
Shapps adds: “He talked to me about the new upgraded specifications being applied to the rail lines, where they can withstand much higher temperatures and we will see what happens. this more often”.
“We have seen the hottest days on record have come in the last 10 to 15 years. So we’ll see more of this. It’s a huge infrastructure that needs replacing.”
The government’s emergency group, Cobra, will not meet on Tuesday but the matter will be discussed in the cabinet.
Shapps also defended prime minister Boris Johnson’s decision to miss Cobra’s three recent emergency meetings during the heatwave, despite finding time to go on board the RAF Typhoon fighter jet.
“There is a war going on in Europe. Why didn’t he go see the RAF? ” he say.
