UK, Europe feel the heat as mercury reaches record highs

The BBC reported last evening that the UK’s record temperature had been broken once again after the mercury reached 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

According to the Met Office, this surpassed yesterday’s earlier peak of 40.2C recorded at Heathrow.

Meanwhile, London Fire Brigade was tackling ten separate blazes across the capital as a result of grass fires caused by the soaring temperatures.

The BBC said the fire service was asking the public to take care as emergency services were facing ‘unprecedented challenges’.

Sweltering temperatures hit much of Western Europe on Tuesday.

Extreme heat warnings were issued in France and record July temperatures were reported in the Netherlands.

Deadly wildfires in France, Portugal, Spain and Greece have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

The BBC quotes Dr Sam Fankhauser, professor of climate economics at Oxford University, as saying: ‘Today’s record-breaking heat is a stark reminder of the impacts of climate change and the urgent need to decrease global carbon emissions and stabilise our climate.’

In the same report, Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London, says: ‘40C at Heathrow would have been extremely unlikely or virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. It’s now an event that shouldn’t have surprised anyone. While still rare, 40C is now a reality of British summers.’