34 degree heatwave hits London

How are Londoners coping in the heat?

Transcript

00:00Hello, Londoners. It is hot. It might be too hot. Yes, London is sweltering under a powerful

00:08heatwave this week, with temperatures hitting 34 degrees Celsius on both Monday and Tuesday,

00:15the hottest days of the year so far, and among the warmest early July temperatures that have

00:21ever been recorded in the UK. Now, this extreme heat is part of a wider European weather pattern

00:29driven by what's called a heat dome, a large area of high pressure trapping warm air over the region

00:36and causing prolonged hot and dry conditions. The UK Met Office and the Health Security Agency

00:43have issued amber heat health alerts across London and the southeast of England as well,

00:49warning of serious risks to health, particularly for older people, young children and those with

00:56any underlying medical conditions. Hospitals have also been placed on alert for heat related

01:03illnesses such as dehydration, heat stroke and any breathing issues as well. Transport services have

01:10also been disrupted with rail networks imposing speed restrictions to prevent tracks from buckling

01:17under the heat. So how are Londoners coping with the heat? What do they do? Do they stay in the shade?

01:23Do they seek out a nearby Lido? And how bad is London transport on days like today?

01:30Do you like doing when it's this hot? What would you do in London when it's this hot? Walking from tree to tree.

01:37Yeah, looking for shade. Walking. Yeah, yeah. As we're privileged enough to have the time in order to walk

01:43from tree to tree. Yeah. Yeah. Try and stay out of the heat if I can. Awesome. Would you ever go to

01:50any kind of Lido? Do you think London has enough space, like enough of those kind of spaces?

01:55I wouldn't go to a Lido, no. Why not? Why not? I don't think they're all that clean or hygienic,

02:00so no, I wouldn't go. Personally, I don't see what can be done. I mean, unfortunately, the underground

02:06system is pretty dated. There you go. It's pretty dated, you know, the underground system. I mean,

02:13it works. When it works, it works fine. But I know they do have problems, you know, when it's this hot.

02:18They do. And, you know, I mean, they tell you to carry water. Well, we carry water. Of course we do.

02:24But I think, yeah, it would be better if it was a bit cooler. Of course it would. But this is,

02:31if this is becoming the norm, this kind of temperature, then yeah, something has to happen.

02:39Well, public transport always give you a notice about taking plenty of water on the train.

02:44They also tell you that if you don't feel well, to get off at the next station.

02:48So I think they're doing as much as they probably can. They have got air con on some of their trains.

02:53Well, most of their trains when it's working. So I think they're doing okay on that.

02:57Yeah.