July Heatwave in Britain

[tropicana]

Wed Jul 19 2006
London, England

Judges removed their wigs inside the courts. Guards at Buckingham Palace were allowed to stand in the shade. Some workers wore shorts to the office. Britain faced one of its hottest days on record Wednesday _ so hot the pavement melted on the roadways.
Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but this is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.

The mid-afternoon temperature at Heathrow Airport was 95.5 degrees. The all time record in Britain is 101 degrees in Faversham, Kent, on Aug. 10, 2003.

The temperature south of London hit 96.6 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Britain in July.
Zookeepers at the Colchester Zoo gave lions blocks of ice flavored with blood. Monkeys got blocks containing fruit.
Construction workers in northwest England dumped crushed rock on highways because the liquefying pavement was sticking to vehicles, Cumbria's county council said.

London's Underground has no air conditioning and the Evening Standard newspaper measured temperatures in the train system at 47C 117F. Operator Transport for London takes no temperature measurements but did not dispute the figure.

Across Europe, officials warned citizens to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.
French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said nine people who died recently may have been victims of soaring temperatures. President Jacques Chirac urged people to be cautious.

The hot weather _ up to 97 degrees in Paris on Wednesday _ recalled the record-breaking 2003 heat wave that left 15,000 people in France dead of dehydration and other problems. Many were elderly and were in some cases left alone while families vacationed.
Since then, France's government has adopted measures to avoid a repeat of the disaster. Bertrand and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin visited a retirement home Wednesday to check on the prevention plan.
This week's victims of the heat in France likely included two people in their 80s who died Tuesday in the Bordeaux region, and a 53-year-old construction worker who collapsed in the central city of Macon. In Spain, two people died during a heat wave that has seen temperatures climb above 104 degrees.

Germans flocked to swimming pools, lakes and forests, searching for relief. In Belgium, temperatures were predicted to hit 99 degrees.
In The Netherlands, the Nijmegen 4-Day March, billed as the world's largest walking festival, was canceled after two participants died in the extreme heat. Some 300 participants became ill Tuesday in temperatures close to 95 degrees and 30 were hospitalized.

[TexasStooge]

I know a few brits here on S2k that are really soaking up the heat.

[P.K.]

The 18th July set a record for the warmest 18th July at 33.3C.

The 19th July set a new record for July with 36.5C recorded. I recorded 34.4C that day which is the second highest in my records back to 1999.

[HenkL]

In The Netherlands the 19th July set a new record for July with 37.1C in Westdorpe (SW-part of the country). The old record (36.9 - Maastricht) was dated 1921.
It looks like the warm weather being continued for the rest of the month, with France expecting some 40+ next week.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

It hit 104 degrees at PDX(Portland Airport) in 106.5 at my house yesterday. Now thats hot. 96 degrees is hot also...

[Bunkertor]

Germany moves to the 7th week with high´s in the 90´s and above...

[AussieMark]

Bunkertor does Germany use Fareinheit

I always thought the weather was measured in degrees celcius

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

Fareinheit is easlier to read an a system that rates temperatures very good.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

Fareinheit is easlier to read an a system that rates temperatures very good.

[Bunkertor]

No, of course, we meassure in ° C. I find it better but i posted F because of the many british readers.


F. e.

(30 ° C x 1,8 ) + 32 = 86 F

( 95 F - 32 ) / 1,8 = 35 °C

[P.K.]

We use deg C as well here so it doesn't mean anything to me.

[AussieMark]

we measure in ° C also

I know to well about all the heat u guys are experiencing

on news year day this year we reached 44.4° C / 112°F

[tomboudreau]

The US is the only place in the world that I know uses F for their temperatue.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

I usely posted both in my reports to the Blog. I find that way everyone can read them.

[P.K.]

Another day, another high temperature record. The record for the 25th July was broken today as 34.1C was reached breaking a 106 year old record.

[Aquawind]

Wow Peter are they talking about a cool down or pattern shift soon?

[P.K.]

Tomorrow looks rather warm, with the record for the 26th July being under threat. After that it should cool down a little.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

These last few weeks have been unfreakin' believable. I've check the charts, and some days parts of the usually damp, cool and foggy UK have been just as warmer, or ever warmer than parts of the Tropics of SE Asia, not to mention the rest of Europe

[WmE]

Yesterday, we've had 37°C here in Austria.

[Aquawind]

I just got off the phone with a customer in UK and said it's really tough and few people have AC so sleeping is the worst. Europe is in bake mode. Hope it cools before October for my trip..