‘Welcome to the too hot to sleep club’: Brits share their pain in sweltering heat

Brits have taken to social media to share their pain after yet another sleepless night in the unbearable heat.

Forecasters have warned that sweltering temperatures may be here to stay throughout July and August, producing a ‘brutal’ summer.

Early models suggest a heat dome – a mass of stagnant hot air – is developing over Europe.

The Met Office has extended its extreme heat weather warning into next week as temperatures look set to reach a dangerously high peak in the coming days.

There is around a 30% chance that the UK’s current heat record – 38.7°C set in Cambridge in 2019 – could be broken.

It is also believed that the nighttime temperature record – 23.9°C recorded in the summer of 1990 – could also be surpassed on Sunday and Monday.

Twitter users have posted memes about their struggles to get some sleep after another tropical night.

One wrote: ‘Welcome to the Too Hot to Sleep Club. The first rule of Too Hot to Sleep Club is tell everyone about it. Second rule of THTSC is, assume no one is suffering as much as you are…’

An ‘amber’ extreme heat warning covering much of England and Wales on Sunday and Monday says there could be a danger to life or potential serious illness, with adverse health effects not just limited to the most vulnerable.

There could also be road closures, and delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, while ambulance services in England are on the highest level of alert as difficulties with the hot weather combine with Covid absences among staff and ongoing delays handing patients over to A&E.

The stifling heat has also prompted calls for a maximum working temperature to keep people safe.

MPs say a 30°C limit in most workplaces, or 27°C for those doing strenuous work, could protect employees from tiredeness, infections, heat stroke or even death.

Employers would have a legal duty to introduce ‘effective control measures’, such as installing ventilation or moving staff away from windows and sources of heat, under the proposals.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are likely to bring some rain in the north of the UK and highs of 27°C or 28°C – slightly cooler than Tuesday which saw 31C in parts of south-east England.

But temperatures are expected to soar again into the mid 30s through the weekend before peaking on Monday, with south-eastern areas of the UK seeing them climb in excess of 35°C, and locally into the high 30s.

Forecaster Matthew Box said: ‘As we get into Sunday it looks like we could see temperatures rise into the high 20s and into the low 30s as well but potentially a few spots getting 34°C or 35°C by Sunday and probably the same again on Monday.

‘We could see by Monday temperatures getting towards the mid or high 30s and there’s about a 30% chance we could see the UK record broken, most likely on Monday at the moment.’

High temperatures may also last into Tuesday.

‘It’s looking like things are going to become hot or very hot as we go through the weekend and into next week,’ Mr Box added.

Heatwaves have been made hotter, longer and more frequent by climate change, and experts have warned of the need to adapt homes and cities in the UK for a future of more intense summer heat.

Network Rail is preparing to introduce speed restrictions to reduce the likelihood of tracks buckling as the heatwave continues, which will cause delays to passenger journeys and disrupt freight services.

London Ambulance Service urged the public to support it as the heat continues by only calling 999 in the event of a life-threatening emergency, keeping hydrated and staying out of the sun during the hottest periods of the day.

The Royal Life Saving Society UK warned people about the dangers of trying to cool off in lakes, quarries, rivers and other waterways in the extremely hot weather.

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