Forty people drowned in France as the country recorded its hottest day since records began — 44.3C in Pissos — and the UK is now bracing for its own unprecedented heat, with a rare red weather warning set to come into force on Wednesday morning.
The French weather agency Météo-France also reported 42.1C in Bordeaux on Tuesday as a heat dome settled over western Europe. Italy’s health ministry declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome, advising people to eat light, stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day and sprinkle themselves with cool water.
“UK braces for record 40C heat as red warning issued; 40 drown in France during Europe heatwave.”
Now Britain is staring down the same furnace. The Met Office has issued a red warning for extreme heat covering parts of England and Wales from 9am on Wednesday until 9pm on Thursday, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C — smashing the current June record of 35.6C set in 1976. Hundreds of schools are closing and chaos is expected on public transport.
As people scramble for ways to stay cool, many will instinctively reach for electric fans. But the government’s own heatwave plan warns that electric fans only work effectively in temperatures under 35C. A fan does not actually reduce a room’s temperature; it merely circulates the air. With the mercury expected to hit 40C, the device may provide little more than a false sense of relief.
Britain’s buildings are ill-equipped for such extremes. Built to retain heat — with heavy-duty bricks, insulation, double or triple glazing and thick roof tiles — most UK homes lack air conditioning. The government has shared a series of suggestions for coping, and a red heat health alert has been issued in England, indicating “a risk to life for even the healthy population”.
The public is urged to check on family, friends and neighbours who may be at higher risk of becoming unwell — and if you are at higher risk, ask them to do the same for you. With the heat dome tightening its grip, the question is not whether records will fall, but how many lives will be lost before they do.