LONDON today baked in a potentially record-breaking heatwave as "really ferocious" temperatures took their toll on the transport network, offices, schools and hospitals.
About half of Tube lines were shut or suffering severe restrictions, rail companies advised against travel and the London Ambulance Service (LAS) pleaded with Londoners to only call 999 in a "genuine emergency".
With the capital hotter than the Western Sahara and amid predictions of a 40C hottest day in the UK, many followed advice to stay in the shade and work from home.
In key developments:
Some schools rejected government advice to remain open and told pupils to stay at home.
The LAS said it expected to receive up to 8,000 emergency calls today, 2,500 more than a "normal" busy day.
Health chiefs said they would do all they could to avoid patients getting stuck in ambulances outside hospitals.
Tube bosses shut the Hammersmith and City line as the Jubilee, Central and District lines suffered "severe delays".
Londoners faced a sleepless night with temperatures staying above 23C.
Police searching for a missing 13-year-old who got into trouble in a river near Ovingham, Northumberland, found a body
Chief executive of the Met Office Professor Penelope Endersby said while today "may well see the hottest day in the UK in history", tomorrow could be even hotter, with some forecasts estimating highs of 43C (109F).
Forecasters said temperatures would ease from Wednesday but admitted heatwaves could become a "regular occurrence".
Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse said the UK had a "difficult 48 hours coming", with the record 38.7C temperature recorded in Cambridge three years ago almost certain to be broken. Mr Malthouse, who was due to chair a third Cobra emergency committee this afternoon, was challenged when he claimed the country was "quite well prepared".
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 18, 2022 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 18, 2022 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis