Searing heat has swept the UK with schools, hospitals, transport networks and water companies struggling to cope with the extreme temperatures caused by climate breakdown. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Temperatures hit highs of 34.6C in Wisley in Surrey, the Met Office said on Tuesday, with the UN chief warning that London was "cooking".
South-east England is expected to see temperatures of 38C on Wednesday and a maximum of 39C on Thursday. Those readings would shatter the previous June record of 35.6C and come close to the all-time milestone of 40.3C reached in July 2022.
The extreme heat came amid urgent warnings that the UK's infrastructure was "built for a climate that no longer exists". Coping measures include: hospital patient appointments cancelled; school closures across southern England and Wales; spikes in sales of fans, ice-cream makers and sun cream.
The UK's Met Office issued a rare red weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday, while a red heat health alert was issued in England indicating "a risk to life for even the healthy population".
Much of western Europe is sweltering in oppressive heat trapped by an area of high pressure. Climate breakdown has added 2C to 4C to the current heatwave, according to a rapid analysis published by ClimaMeter on Monday.
France saw its hottest night on record on Monday, followed by its hottest day on record on Tuesday. Temperatures reached highs of 44.3C as officials said they had recorded 40 deaths from drowning as people sought to escape the heat. Several people also drowned in Germany over the weekend.
In Spain, one in every eight weather stations recorded temperatures above 40C on Monday, with highs of 44C expected on Tuesday. Spain's weather agency, Aemet, warned of "extraordinary danger".
Doctors have advised people to drink water, stay in the shade, and check in on vulnerable friends and neighbours.
António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said in a speech at London Climate Action Week on Tuesday that London was "cooking". He said: "Here in London, the city of Dickens, it is clear our world is facing a tale of two crises: a climate crisis pushing us deeper toward higher temperature and closer to catastrophic tipping points, and an energy crisis exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons."
Rail services across Britain were disrupted on Tuesday and operators urged passengers to travel "only if absolutely necessary". Trains reduced speeds to exert less force on tracks that are at risk of buckling.
Some hospitals in England were forced to cancel patient appointments due to high demand for emergency care.
Hundreds of schools across southern England and Wales are expected to close or reduce their hours this week. "Our Victorian school buildings have become greenhouses," said Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union.
South East Water introduced a hosepipe ban as the heatwave caused demand to surge, while other water companies encouraged people to use less water.
Data from retailers suggests sales of electric fans more than doubled compared with the previous four weeks, while another predicted sales of ice, ice-cream and ice lollies would rise by about half.
Hot weather kills tens of thousands of Europeans each year. "Human-induced climate change made this heatwave exceptional," said Emma Holmberg, an extreme temperature researcher at the University of Bern.
The striking heat comes weeks after an extreme Spring heatwave in late May that shattered the UK's historical temperature record for the month by a full 2C. The run of hot weather has evoked memories of an achingly hot summer 50 years ago, in 1976.