The UK has woken up groggy and begging for the hot spell to end after another tropical night as the fourth day of the extreme heatwave gets underway.
The record-breaking hot spell remains in the UK and western Europe, sparking the Met Office to extend the extreme heat warning until at least midnight today as mercury could hit 39C in some places.
So far, the UK’s new record temperature was clocked in Merryfield yesterday – 36.7 °C – but that could be topped today.
Most of the UK will endure gruelling heat or thunderstorms today as most of the British Isles are under a weather warning.
A rare danger to life red heat warning remains in place for London, the South East and South West of England until 9 pm, compounded by humidity and worsening the effects even on healthy people.
Travel across the UK is likely to be a sticky affair today as the infrastructure struggles to cope, and most rail operators are advising people to only travel if absolutely necessary due to the heat and timetable changes.
The emergency services are on high alert as a wildfire tears through a Derbyshire moorland. The ongoing fire is burning through over 5,000 sq ft of Tintwistle Moor, with heavy smoke closing roads in the area.
Officials in Paris are banning the drinking of alcoholic beverages outdoors in public from today, as the country and its emergency services are at breaking point due to the intense heatwave.
Hospitals in the French capital and nearby are overwhelmed by a wave of patients, and the move is needed to try to ease the pressure, Paris police chief Patrice Faure said.
Consumption of alcohol in public is prohibited from Friday midday until 7 am on Saturday, and from Saturday midday until 7 am Sunday.
Alcohol sales from shops and on takeaway are prohibited from 6 pm today until 7 am Saturday, and the same time from Saturday until Sunday.
However, bar and restaurant terraces are exempt.
Following a spike in life-threatening emergency calls this week, the head of the London Ambulance Service (LAS) has issued a stark warning to patrons preparing for the weekend.
Craig Harman, the chief operating officer of LAS, told football fans to drink responsibly and enjoy ‘plenty of water’ between alcohol as they cheer England tomorrow during the FIFA World Cup game.
He said: ‘I’m saying to people I need you to drink water even when you’re not thirsty, staying out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, and particularly not exercising outside and putting your body under additional heat and strain.’
The UK’s biggest ambulance service saw a 50 per cent rise in life-threatening calls on Wednesday compared to a typical summer day, while the number of heart attacks was up by 30 per cent.
Due to the heat, travellers in the red and amber severe heat zones, which include London, the South East, the North West, and the South Yorkshire border, are advised to avoid taking unnecessary trips in England today.
Timetables have been shortened by a number of operators, and services that are now operating are anticipated to be crowded.
The opportunity to utilise a ticket intended for today through Tuesday for free is available from several rail companies.
Speed restrictions are in place across the railways as the steel rails can sizzle at over 50 °C, increasing the risk of bending and damage if trains were to use them at full speed.
Passengers have reported air conditioning breaking down on carriages, and on Tuesday, people were trapped on a Great Northern train in London for nearly two hours after a breakdown before a ‘panicked’ passenger forced the doors open.
Crews have been fighting to dampen out a wildfire on Tintwistle Moor in Derbyshire overnight, with dense smoke and ash blackening the sky over the villages and closing the A628 Woodhead Pass.
Residents in Tintwistle, Hollingworth and Woolley Bridge were told to keep their windows and doors shut to avoid the smoke, and temperatures in the area could hit 33C today, with a yellow warning for thunderstorms active until 10 am.
Another UK town has had the unenviable pleasure of becoming the hottest place in the country.
Merryfield in Somerset clocked a whopping 36.7 °C yesterday, making it hotter than Manila in the Philippines or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Wales’s hottest day on record saw the temperature climb to 35.9 °C in Bute Park, Cardiff.
Meanwhile, the highest overnight temperature was in Kenley, Surrey, where people had no respite even after sunset as the temperature refused to drop below 24.2 °C.
People in Chambray-lès-Tours, France, fought over fans and air conditioners as a severe heatwave pushed temperatures above 40°C, with more than half the country under red alerts.
The Peckham fire over Copeland appeared to be getting more ominous by the second, not because the fire was still spreading, but because the scale of it had only just become apparent, and the footage circulating from Copeland Park made it look apocalyptic.
As heavy black smoke rose from the Khan’s bargains department store on Peckham Rye, onlookers paused to see the fire.
As they attempt to control the fire, the London Fire Brigade has recommended that all homeowners keep their doors and windows closed.
Footage reveals the raging fire growing aggressively right next to a block of flats and other stores.
Firefighters in Derbyshire have been unable to put out a wildfire on Tintwistle Moor, which has been burning since last night.
Six fire engines are said to be on scene, with helicopters also dropping water from above.
About 500 square meters of moorland and woodland have been ablaze, with the emergency services expected to remain there into the evening, and while the area is small, the local Fire & Rescue team warned that wildfires need a ‘huge response’ to prevent escalation.
‘The ground is tinder dry and the slightest spark from a campfire, a tiny burning ember from a BBQ, or a flake of ash from a discarded cigarette could soon escalate to a major incident, so please act responsibly,’ they said in a statement.
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