And the predictions came true. The United Kingdom has just recorded the highest temperature in its history: 40ºC. The heat that hits Europe, scorches the mountains and damages airport runways and train tracks has hit the British, who are experiencing one of the worst heat waves in the region. The Met Office, the country’s weather service, has issued a red alertthe first in its history for exceptional heat, as the nation struggles to adapt.
During the last few days we have seen a country fully prepared against the cold languish against the heat. London had to wrap the historic Hammersmith Bridge over the River Thames in aluminum foil fearing it would crack in the high temperatures. The train tracks have overheated and transport has had to slow down and several planes have been diverted for fear of runways melting.
“The infrastructure, much of which was built from the Victorian era, was simply not built to withstand this kind of temperature,” officials explained. Actually, neither the infrastructure, nor the English themselves. The citizens they are juggling to survive to this wave as they can. Fans, hoses, and air conditioners are out of order. stock in some places and staying indoors and drinking plenty of water no longer works for some.
The phenomenon has moved to social media with all sorts of memes, but even better is the advice people are giving that shows how the UK really has no idea how to cope with the heat. “I’ve read advice to wear a bag of frozen peas under your shirt on the train. Right now on the radio they’re suggesting you rub yourself with a raw onion (but it only has a palliative effect, not a preventative one),” told the journalist Elle Hunt on Twitter.
The UK really has no concept of how to cope with heat. I’ve read advice to carry a bag of frozen peas under your shirt on the train. Right now on the radio they’re suggesting you rub yourself with a raw onion (“but it only has a palliative, not a preventative effect”)
— Elle Hunt (@elle_hunt) July 16, 2022
Meanwhile, on the radio, a listener has a question: “But if you put your socks in the freezer, won’t they get hard?” “This is not a heatwave, this is the new normal and the UK is woefully unprepared, putting your sheets in the freezer and eating four ice creams a day and celebrating like it’s a party instead of registering it as the emergency that it is,” added.
To see to what extent British society is not adapted to high temperatures, this Vice article is essential in which a Professor of Environmental Anthropology at the University of Exeter, Dr. Susannah Crockford, was asked what the main reactions are of the British during a heat wave. “Brits tend to do one of two things during a heat wave, sometimes simultaneously. Go outside and sit in the sun, not wearing a lot of clothes and Drink lots of alcohol“, He said.
Anyone else looking like this or is it just me #cantleep #puddlelife pic.twitter.com/f4il6iuFa9
— Paulline d 🏴🏴🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏼🏴🏴🏴🏴 July 19, 2022
When asked why they do it, he replied: “Because we don’t have the infrastructure to deal with the heat here. We don’t have air conditioning here. It is a country that has historically had cold winters and mild summers, so our buildings are designed to trap heat. There is also something called the urban heat island effect, which increases temperatures in cities where there are many buildings.”
Poorly adapted services and infrastructure
Many found the idea of wrapping an entire bridge in albal paper to protect it from the sun funny and disproportionate. It seemed like a crappy and unprepared way of doing things. But the reality is that if that bridge had reached 18ºC, it would have been a great danger for the citizens who crossed it due to the structural danger that was coming.
Let’s remember that in 2020, the structure was already closed completely during the month of August after high temperatures widened microfractures in its pedestals during a heat wave.
Some schools plan to close or not open at all, and the country’s main rail network has urged people to travel only “if absolutely necessary,” with several cancellations announced and speed restrictions already in place. UK Luton Airport, North London, suspended flights after high temperatures caused a defect in the track surface. Businesses will suffer too: They expect a drop in retail sales as shoppers choose to stay indoors.
And then there is another big problem: the vast majority of homes in the UK are not adapted to high temperatures (besides, of course, not having air conditioning). Remember that heat waves are their new normal, and their homes were built when heat waves were unlikely events. Today, 20% of homes already overheat in the summer, and it is the vulnerable that suffer the most. And meanwhile, on the radio they continue to recommend rubbing an onion over the body.
Image: Flickr