UK suffers as it swiftly sets new hottest June day record

LONDON (AFP) — The U.K. recorded its hottest ever June day Thursday, with temperatures reaching 36.4 C (97.5 F) in southwestern Somerset, breaking the previous day’s record as the extreme heat stretched London’s ambulance services.

The Met Office weather service said the record-breaking June temperature had been clocked in the Somerset village of Yeovilton, after Wednesday’s high of 36.1C (97) was registered further east in Gosport, Hampshire.

Records have tumbled as an increasingly deadly heat wave leaves western Europe sweltering with weather hotter than parts of Africa, throwing up numerous challenges from transport to emergency response.

Prior to Wednesday’s U.K. record June temperature, the high for the month had dated back to the infamously hot summer of 1976, although U.K. temperature records for other months have been repeatedly broken in recent years.

Earlier Thursday, the Met Office extended a red warning for extreme heat until Friday night for London and the surrounding area.

The red warning of “highly likely” risks to health and infrastructure had previously been in place until midnight Thursday, but now runs to 9 p.m. Friday in London and other cities in southeast England including Dover and Oxford.

The London Ambulance Service said Thursday it had seen its highest-ever number of “life-threatening emergencies” the previous day, which its chief executive Jason Killens said was “driven by the extreme heat.”

“Our crews are working very hard in challenging conditions to care for patients,” he said in a statement. “Please help them to help you by taking care of yourself and others — stay out of the sun and keep hydrated.”

As temperatures soared in recent days across the British capital — home to around 9 million people — the service said ambulance crews responded to a record 642 Category 1 calls on Wednesday.

Category 1 incidents include the most serious, life-threatening injuries and illnesses, such as cardiac arrests and patients who are not breathing.

In total, it received 7,900 calls and ambulance crews responded to nearly 3,600 patients, according to the service.

More than 400 additional ambulance crews were on the road this week to assist with the situation, it added.

“The rise in calls is linked to the hot weather, with crews responding to more people who are fainting, struggling to breathe or experiencing heart problems,” London Ambulance Service said in its statement.

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By Agence France-Presse