The sun was extraordinary yesterday. Because it was cloudless , we in the south of England saw the moon and it do battle and the light around us change. We were in neither night nor day but a lugubrious stillness, made the more ominous by the heat and the lack of wind. It was more still than I had imagined.
Of course we have seen eclipses before but never an eclipse so memorable and as the sun came out from behind the moon we knew we had witnessed a moment. It was back to the new world where temperatures approaching 40 degrees in England occur again.
Trains go slow or stop, people walk from place to place looking for shade as if sunshine was rain – to be avoided. It impacts behaviour in other ways, we do not want to go to offices for fear of heat and exposure – of the sun’s capacity to harm.
The worst of it is local to the south and east of England. My daily commute this summer from lower Slough to the City of London has me facing a frightening weather prediction. There will be many of us soft southerners afraid!
I look for relief but find a hotter night in London ; – small respite from relentless sun today. This sun will dominate our work as it dominated our late lugubrious evening.
The sun rules again!
The BBC tells us
A rare amber weather warning for extreme heat will come into effect across a large swathe of the UK on Thursday, with temperatures set to soar as high as 38C (100F).
Thursday will mark the peak of the UK’s fifth widespread heatwave this year, with temperatures to be in the mid-30s Celsius across most of the warning area.
Amber heat health alerts, external, which warn of significant impacts to health and social care services, are already in force for the entirety of England until 21:00 BST on Friday.
The searing heat could also lead to power cuts, rail and air travel delays, and cause serious health impacts such as dehydration and heat exhaustion.
This warning comes into effect on Thursday from 09:00 BST until 23:59 BST across Eastern England, London and the south-east, the Midlands and parts of Yorkshire and Humber.
It will run alongside amber heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency across the entirety of England.
In effect until 21:00 BST on 14 August, these warn of significant impacts across health and social care services, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
Adding to the risks associated with the heatwave, a few tropical nights – where temperatures fail to drop below 20C – are also on the cards as increasingly humid air spreads into western areas.
The cumulative effect of persistent heat by day and night can place additional stress on the body.
