UK breaks temperature record as heat wave soars past 104

A brutal heat settled over the United Kingdom Tuesday as temperatures rose to 104º, a new record.

Before Tuesday afternoon, when temperatures at London’s Heathrow Airport peaked, the U.K.’s record stood at 101.7º in 2019.

Flights into and out of Luton Airport Monday were canceled for several hours after parts of the runway melted in the baking sun, while trains were slowed for safety, causing massive delays and backups. Britain’s Supreme Court moved online over air conditioning problems and the British Museum closed early.

Nikos Christidis, a climate scientist at the Met Office, said Tuesday was the first time that temperatures over 104ºF had been recorded in the U.K..

“In a recent study we found that the likelihood of extremely hot days in the UK has been increasing and will continue to do so during the course of the century, with the most extreme temperatures expected to be observed in the southeast of England,” he said in a statement.

Christidis placed the blame squarely on climate change, saying these high temperatures “could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.”

“The likelihood of exceeding [104º] anywhere in the UK in a given year has also been rapidly increasing, and, even with current pledges on emissions reductions, such extremes could be taking place every 15 years in the climate of 2100,” he said.

Health officials warned residents to stay inside or in the shade, to stay hydrated with water while avoiding alcohol and to skip strenuous activity when possible.

Elsewhere in Europe, more than 1,100 heat-related deaths have been reported in Spain and Portugal this month alone as temperatures have climbed to almost 115º.º