As Furnace Friday approaches with forecasts of 99F heat, there are growing fears 7,000 Britons will start dying every year as a result of extreme heat.
In an extraordinary report on the risks of future heatwaves, MPs have said the number of weather-related deaths could rise to 7,000 a year by 2050 without a strategy to protect the vulnerable. The MPs called on the Government to consider making it illegal for employers to force people to work in hot buildings, and they backed calls for dress codes to be relaxed in schools and offices during hot weather. But the report sparked a backlash last night, with critics suggesting it was ‘alarmist’ on the basis of one spell of a few weeks of hot weather. The UK's longest heatwave since 1976 is forecast to intensify as the week goes on, with 91F (33C) temperatures yesterday and 93F (34C) today before the South East of England faces a sizzling 99F (37C) on Friday.
In an extraordinary report on the risks of future heatwaves, MPs have said the number of weather-related deaths could rise to 7,000 a year by 2050 without a strategy to protect the vulnerable. The MPs called on the Government to consider making it illegal for employers to force people to work in hot buildings, and they backed calls for dress codes to be relaxed in schools and offices during hot weather. But the report sparked a backlash last night, with critics suggesting it was ‘alarmist’ on the basis of one spell of a few weeks of hot weather. The UK's longest heatwave since 1976 is forecast to intensify as the week goes on, with 91F (33C) temperatures yesterday and 93F (34C) today before the South East of England faces a sizzling 99F (37C) on Friday.
The MPs, from the Commons environmental audit committee, warned that Britain’s infrastructure was not equipped to cope with the more frequent extreme weather events expected as a result of climate change. They said that the rail and motorway network could be brought to a standstill by regular heatwaves with tracks buckling and road surfaces melting. They warned that there would be increased water shortages, criticising the fact that ministers have weakened water efficiency targets and are failing to introduce more efficient drainage systems. According to their report, hospitals and millions of private houses particularly those built in the 1960s or 1970s are in danger of overheating during the summer months, putting thousands at risk. The MPs said residents in care homes were also in danger because managers often believed old people ‘feel the cold’ and leave the heating on all day even in summer.
Torrential downpours are forecast to hit northern and eastern England on Friday afternoon and evening, bringing up to 2.4in (60mm) of rain in just three hours along with thunderstorms, large hail and gusty winds. Temperatures will then drop a little to 77F (25C) by the weekend which will provide some relief for a country that is today entering its 31st consecutive day that has brought a UK maximum reading of at least 78F (26C). The Met Office has said England could see the July record high of 98.1F (36.7C), reached at London Heathrow Airport in 2015, broken on Friday. The all-time UK high is 101.3F (38.5C) set in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003. Meanwhile, rail journeys are being disrupted by the hot weather as Chiltern Railways trains between London and Oxford are being rescheduled from noon until 6pm each day until Friday because of high track temperatures. Now, United Utilities - which already has a hosepipe ban for its seven million customers in North West England on the way from August 5 - has applied to take water from Lakes Windermere, Ullswater and Ennerdale in Cumbria in a bid to reverse the effects of the hot spell. The firm, which loses 430million litres of water a day through leaks, normally takes up to 300million a day from Ullswater and 200million from Windermere but wants another 51million and 24million litres respectively. The Environment Agency and Defra will now decide whether to grant the permits. It is the first time United Utilities has applied for such an order in eight years, and it comes after the UK's driest start to summer since 1961. But local MP Tim Farron said it would stop boats operating, adding: 'Every other option must be exhausted because it's clear that removing half a metre of water from Windermere is absolutely a non-starter.' Cavendish in Suffolk was yesterday's hotspot with the temperature at 88.5F (31.4C), which was 42.1F (23C) higher than the lowest observation recorded, at Drumnadrochit, near Loch Ness in the Highlands, at 46.4F (8C).