The Heat is On

It's been scorching in London this week with The Times stating "Britain Buckles in the heat on a day of chaos" - that was Tuesday as Britain was "gripped by travel mayhem on the hottest day of the year as the Channel Tunnel was shut, roads were grid-locked (both due to wildcat strikes in France - ferry workers and air traffic controllers) and railway tracks buckled under the heat.

There will be more mayhem this week with strike action on the horizon from unions representing rail workers in the West Country, London Underground staff as well as the French and Spanish air traffic controllers all announcing walkouts.  To top this, activists broke into the Eurotunnel terminal and lit fires on tracks 300 yards from the tunnel entrance, causing all cross-channel trains to be cancelled for about three hours.

If that wasn't enough, migrants sought to capitalise (reported The Times) on the chaos by attempting to break into vehicles stuck on roads in Calais. The wildcat strike by ferry workers in France closed the Port of Calais for the second time in a week, leading to massive traffic jams on both sides of the channel,  In France, thousands of vehicles had to crawl on the 30 mile road east to Dunkirk to try to seek another route to Britain.  There were tailbacks of 16 miles reported  to have formed in Kent!

Temperatures reached 41C in the cauldron of Centre Court at Wimbledon on Tuesday with tennis chiefs cutting capacity by 5000 to about 38,000 amid concerns about a lack of shade and access to water for many spectators.

On Wednesday the London public was being advised as follows:

Here's what's been happening so far today:

• Heathrow has recorded temperatures of 36.7C, beating the previous record for the month of July from 2006. 


• It is hotter than Miami, LA, Rome and Barcelona, with Kingston-upon-Thames hotter than Kingston, Jamaica. 


• The United Nations has urged countries to create better warning systems as a heatwave sweeping western Europe saw temperatures reach 40C. 


• Speed restrictions have been imposed by Network Rail on some train lines amid fears the metal tracks could buckle. 


• Health warnings have been issued for elderly and vulnerable people, with relatives and friends urged to check on people they know. 


• Asthma sufferers have been told to take extra precautions because of the potential for Saharan sand to be carried over into Britain's atmosphere by the warm front.