The record for this year so far is 32.7 degrees Celsius in the middle of last month at Heathrow.
London: Thanasis Gavos
“Shock and surprise» has caused meteorologists to Britain the prediction derived from some elements of their computer models that the thermometer in the country might catch them 40 degrees Celsius towards the end of the week.
It will be the first time such a thing has happened in the country since meteorological records have been kept.
An orange alert is already in place for the east and south of England today, as those areas are forecast to record their hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius.
This temperature will make Britain warmer today than the Caribbean and the Maldives. The record for this year so far is 32.7 degrees Celsius in the middle of last month at Heathrow.
Indicative of the heat is the incident on the railway tracks in Battersea, south London, when a spark from the train crossing set fire to the wooden girders at that point. Until 8 pm local there are speed restrictions that trains can develop.
The orange alert is the third of the four weather alert levels and concerns the health risks to citizens due to high temperatures. This warning is in effect until Friday morning, with the rest of the country on alert level two.
Over the weekend, however, things are set to get even tougher as there is a 30% chance the mercury will hit 40C.
On Monday afternoon, the weather service issued a “rare extreme heat warning” in effect from Sunday.
“No one can remember 40 degrees appearing in a major global weather forecast system for Britain,” said Simon Lee, a meteorologist at Columbia University, expressing surprise.
The record temperature in Britain is 38.7 degrees Celsius recorded at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens on July 25, 2019. Before that, the record was 38.5 degrees Celsius in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003.
To cope with the high temperatures of recent days, the people of Britain have been flocking to beaches and parks for a breath of fresh air and sunbathing.
Commenting on the data, Dr Michael Byrne, a lecturer in earth and environmental sciences at the University of St Andrews, said that “the heatwave we are experiencing is a dangerous reminder of the accelerating consequences of global.
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