England has recorded its hottest June day on record, with temperatures reaching 36.1C in Hampshire – smashing the 50-year-old record of 35.6C set during the long, hot summer of 1976.
At least 1,000 schools have been forced to close as a rare red weather warning for extreme heat covers large parts of the country, from London to Somerset and Swansea up to Birmingham. The Met Office has warned people to stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, and extended an amber warning for heat in south east England into Saturday.
“England recorded hottest June day at 36.1C, 1,000+ schools closed, boy missing in lake, woman dies on beach.”
Rail passengers face days of disruption, with 11% of services across Britain cancelled or delayed by more than half an hour as of Wednesday morning. Network Rail has advised travellers to only use trains if “absolutely necessary”.
Police marine units have joined a multi-agency search for a 15-year-old boy reported missing at 1.35pm on Wednesday after he was last seen swimming at Testwood Lakes near Totton, Southampton. “We have deployed the marine units to aid in the search, alongside colleagues from NPAS, South Central Ambulance Service, and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Service,” a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said.
A woman died on a Dorset beach as the extreme heat gripped the coast. Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency issued its second ever red heat-health alert for six regions, warning that even healthy people are at risk. The alert lasts until 11pm on Thursday.
The heatwave is part of a wider European crisis. France recorded its hottest day since records began in 1947, with the national temperature indicator hitting 30C – breaking a record set just a day earlier. Paris and many other areas exceeded 40C on Wednesday. More than half of France remains under a red heat alert, with tens of thousands of homes in the west without power. At least 40 people have drowned in heatwave-related incidents in France since last Thursday, according to the prime minister. Pissos in the Landes region saw 44.3C on Tuesday, and the country experienced its hottest night ever recorded with an average of 29.9C.
Climate change is driving up temperatures, with Europe heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.
In the UK, temperatures could hit 38C on Thursday. The Met Office has also issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for Thursday evening across the south west, with forecasters predicting 60mph winds. Hosepipe bans are already in force in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire as South East Water manages increased demand.
As the heatwave shows no sign of abating, the search for the missing boy at Testwood Lakes continues.