Heatwave in the UK: What tourists need to know

19-07-22

Everything is at a virtual standstill in the UK these days. Britons are watching the thermometer rise to record highs. We are talking about temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) never recorded anywhere in the UK at any time in its history, at least as long as there have been measuring instruments to measure them.

Some public transport services have had to be cancelled and firefighters in some parts of the UK are working around the clock to tackle fires caused by the high temperatures.

Luton airport in north London had to suspend all operations on Monday because the airfield's runway had literally melted. The heat deformed parts of the concourse into a huge frying pan in the 36-degree heat.

While other southern European countries build their roads using polymers to prevent them from melting, in the UK this is not so common, so some roads have had to be gritted to prevent the melted asphalt from causing accidents.

Nor are train tracks prepared for the heat. The high temperatures have forced hundreds of train services to be cancelled because the tracks are at risk of warping in the sun.

Victoria station, one of London's largest, saw a spark ignite the wooden rails of the tracks, causing a fire that had to be extinguished by the emergency services.

The rails can reach a temperature of over 60 degrees in the heat and can expand and deform as trains pass over them, so their speed has been limited. On some routes in the south of the country, where the highest temperatures are being experienced, trains cannot run faster than 90 kilometres per hour, resulting in delays and added hardship for travellers.

As a precaution, a few days before temperatures reached record highs in the UK, rail system operators had to paint parts of the tracks white to mitigate the effects of the sun.

The London Underground - and its long-suffering passengers - is another casualty of the heatwave. Most of the lines are not air-conditioned, so the carriages have become ovens. This is true for the lines that are in operation.

On the other hand, less than 5% of homes in the UK have air conditioning, so in general terms, the country's infrastructure is not prepared to withstand intense heat waves like the ones that are now affecting it.

Blinds, key features in countries accustomed to heat, are virtually non-existent in the UK, which has to defend itself from the sun's rays with shades and curtains.

Nor is there air conditioning on buses, which, to make matters worse, have tiny windows that fail to bring cool air to passengers.

All this information may be useful for travellers arriving in the UK these days. With that in mind, they should plan their travels for the months of the coming years, for although temperatures should start to drop in just a few days, scientists and meteorologists say this will not be the last heatwave Britain will have to face.