The Luton Airport runway was closed because of a ‘surface defect’ in the heat on Monday as Wales recorded its hottest day on record with England set to follow later after fires broke out, trains were cancelled and schools closed.
Flights were diverted from the airport, which told MailOnline: ‘Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway. Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as soon as possible. We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.’
The Met Office confirmed Hawarden in Flintshire had reached 37.1C (98.8F) this afternoon, exceeding the previous all-time high in Wales of 35.2C (95.4F) in the same location on August 2, 1990. And it was Cornwall’s hottest day on record today, with 34.2C (93.6F) observed in Bude – beating the previous all-time high of 33.9C (93F) in June 1976.
In England, the hotspot by 4pm today was Cambridge with 38C (100.4F) – closing in on the all-time UK record of 38.7C (101.7F), set in the same city in July 2019. It was also the UK’s hottest day of the year so far by some distance – beating the previous 2022 high of 33C (91F) set in Hawarden only yesterday. London was at 37.5C (99.5F) today.
Wildfires continued to burn today after weeks of very dry conditions – including across fields near Chesterfield in Derbyshire – while a vehicle dramatically set on fire in a car park near the beauty spot of Durdle Door in Dorset.
Elsewhere, rail tracks buckled in London’s Vauxhall in the heat – resulting in a safety inspection on the line that caused disruption between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. And operator Great Northern said a buckled rail at Watlington in Norfolk meant services could not run between Cambridge and Kings Lynn. And all flights in and out of RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire were halted because the ‘runway has melted’, according to a military source.
In London, a judge at Wood Green Crown Court was forced to halt a murder trial after an air conditioning unit broke down – saying he had ‘no choice’ but to adjourn proceedings and move the case to the Old Bailey.
With the UK set to be hotter than the Sahara Desert, transport links in the capital were already grinding to a halt due to train cancellations – while roads could melt and bosses have urged employees to work from home.
Health chiefs told patients to stay away unless it is an emergency amid fears hospitals will be overwhelmed, while emergency services urged swimmers to stay away from lakes and rivers in case they face difficulties.
Some schools in Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire have shut while others will close early – and water providers have also warned of shortages, while a burst water main caused chaos in Kingston upon Thames.
Some 53 schools in Buckinghamshire have closed and reverted to remote learning. Elsewhere, Northwood Community Primary School in Kirkby, Merseyside, said that sports day had been axed today; while King Charles I School, a secondary school in Worcestershire, has cancelled all on-site detentions both today and tomorrow.
Professor Endersby told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning: ‘We think today we may well see the hottest day in the UK in history, with the hottest temperatures in the South East, but actually the highest temperatures we expect tomorrow, and those temperatures will be further north as that warm air pushes north.
‘It’s tomorrow that we’re really seeing the higher chance of 40C and temperatures above that. Even possibly above that… 41C isn’t off the cards. We’ve even got some 43Cs in the model but we’re hoping it won’t be as high as that.’
One GP surgery in Hertfordshire had to close a site today because it has no air conditioning; others in London have texted patients to warn them of reduced services with limited clinic rooms in operation; and Milton Keynes University Hospital said it was ‘standing down routine outpatient appointments and surgery’ today and tomorrow.
In Cardiff, a children’s hospital’s cancer ward at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital was left without air conditioning after the unit failed in hot weather. Engineers were working to fix the fault affecting the chemotherapy area – and health chiefs said that if the problem cannot be solved, patients will be moved to a different ward to keep cool.
Meanwhile Royal Mail warned of disruption to deliveries, saying today: ‘In areas where temperatures rise to potentially dangerous levels during the day, our staff have been advised to return to the office with any mail they have been unable to deliver and not put themselves under any risk of falling ill due to the extreme heat.’
At Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the Guard was scaled down to protect the soldiers. The marching and ceremonial parade was made shorter to prevent the Queen’s Guard from being too long in the midday sun.
But Guardsman were still required to stand to attention and march outside the Palace in their Canadian bearskins and full uniform. And one standing guard was seen being given water to drink as he stood in the direct sunshine.
As health officials declared a ‘national emergency’, rail chaos was already affecting parts of London this morning – with the Overground suspended between Willesden Junction and Richmond, and Romford and Upminster.
On the Underground, the District, Central, Bakerloo and Jubilee lines all had severe delays while the Hammersmith & City Line was completely axed due to ‘heat related restrictions’ and there was no Metropolitan line between Baker Street and Aldgate. Transport for London told all passengers in the capital to avoid non-essential travel.
The scorching heat means the UK will be warmer than Nassau in the Bahamas (32C), Kingston in Jamaica (33C), Malaga in Spain (28C), Athens in Greece (35C), Albufeira in Portugal (28C) and Dakhla in the Western Sahara (24C).
Temperatures had already hit 34C (93F) in London by midday on Monday. As Britons camped overnight at Bournemouth beach for the best spot today amid what forecasters called an ‘exceptional hot spell’:
- The Met Office urged people to do ‘as little as possible’ to avoid dire health risks as the ‘red warning’ began;
- Rail passengers were urged to travel only if ‘necessary’ and gritters were sent out to stop roads melting;
- Wildfires swept through parched grassland after days of dry and roasting conditions in ‘tinderbox’ Britain;
- There is now a 90 per cent chance of the all-time UK temperature record being broken today or tomorrow;
- Water providers including Affinity, Anglian and South East reported supply issues due to the hot weather.
The hot weather also caused a significant drop in footfall in London, with a drop of 10 per cent across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres today compared to last week. The figure across all UK shopping destinations was down 3 per cent overall – but footfall on high streets in coastal towns was up 9 per cent.
