Hotter Than The Sahara

~ beetleypete

The weather forecasters are jubilant here today, as are the main News presenters. They finally got something right, and all previous records have been broken in Britain.

Last night was the hottest overnight temperature ever recorded in the UK.

At 1pm today, the hottest ever daytime temperature was recorded near Heathrow Airport, 40.2C. (104.3F) And that is expected to be exceeded later this afternoon, with the possibility it may reach 42C (almost 108F) somewhere in England. As I type this in Beetley, it is currently 39.5C (103F) in the house, and I can certainly feel it, despite all the fans running. Ollie is lying in the darker hallway, trying hard to sleep but constantly changing position to get comfortable.

Hopefully, this should be the last day of such extreme temperatures. Tomorrow is forecast to be 29C (84F), and by Friday it will have dropped to a more usual temperature of 23C. (73.5F)

The TV weather pundits keep comparing this heatwave to temperatures in foreign places we think of as being very hot. One of them was grinning all over his face when he announced. “It is hotter than the Western Sahara!”

Of course, he was making that statement from an airconditioned television studio.

Chances are he won’t still be smiling when he leaves for home later, and has to go outside.

68 thoughts on “Hotter Than The Sahara”

    1. I think the fires were less than 100, Jennie. But a few of them were quite serious, and destroyed homes. Luckily, nobody was killed in those, though five people died by drowning around the country, after ignoring advice not to swim in cold water.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  7. 79 F here up north, and the last few days been 75 F. Night has been about 68 F. Tomorrow it will be 66F. Anyone who hates heat would be better off living up north! It was 100 F for a couple of days in 2017, but since then the temperatures have been nowhere near it.

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  8. It seems to be terrible in a lot of places. My mother’s flat doesn’t have air-conditioning (my parents never liked it) and summers here get pretty uncomfortable, but usually a bit later. It doesn’t look as if it was going to get better any time soon here, so… Stay safe, Pete.

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  9. Thunderstorm here this morning around 7am brought welcome rain (though not as much as had been forecast) and cooler temperatures throughout the day at around 23 degrees which suits me better than the 28 degrees yesterday. I know that’s a full 10 below what you have experienced and my daughter in Surrey has suffered too. We’ll no doubt be complaining about the rain and the snow before long! 🥵

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    1. We certainly will, Jude. It is what we do best, our national skill! 🙂
      That said, 100+ has been unbearable in Beetley, and must be much worse for those in cities like London.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  16. Pete, I feel for you. When I did work in Phoenix, my first day there was 117….I walked a mile to a friend’s apartment…”dry heat” you know. no big deal – but when I entered his A/C’d apartment I literally melted down in a puddle…in Phoenix for 6+ months a year you go from A/C house to A/C car to A/C work, as it’s never below 100+…what a life

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  21. I really feel for you Pete and poor Ollie. A relief at least to know that it will not continue. I don’t think the television people should be laughing about it considering it is probably killing people who aren’t able to tolerate it. May you have cool breezes soon.

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  22. Yes it’s 39C here too. I’ve been out in the car but couldn’t wait to get home. The air-con unit in our front room gave up the ghost yesterday, but luckily we still have a mobile unit which Sam lugged downstairs before driving up to Liverpool. Our front room is the only cool room in the house.

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  23. Wow! I thought it was hot in our house at 28C. 35 must be awful. It is a humid 38 outside here in our part of Greater Manchester. That’s heat I haven’t experienced since a summer holiday in Dubai a few years ago (what were we thinking?!) 😅. I’d recommend keeping windows covered and shut to keep the hot air outside.

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    1. I have the curtains closed, Paul, but I have the windows open for the psycholgical effect of having the breeze, even though that breeze is warm. It is currently 39C in and around the house, the hottest I can ever remember in Britain, that’s for sure. I have been in Greece (years ago) when it was 45C, but all I did was sit in the sea all day.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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