Heatwave latest: East of England experiences record high temperatures

Summary

The UK has recorded a temperature of more than 40C (104F) for the first time
People are being urged to stay cool and hydrated, with a first-ever red warning for heat across much of England
There are warnings about the dangers of entering open water after a number of people were reported to have drowned while trying to escape the heat
Network Rail has warned against travel and road surfaces, including the A14, have warped
A high of 38.2C (100.8F) was reached in Santon Downham in Suffolk and Pitsford in Northamptonshire on Monday

Live Reporting

Pete Cooper

Gritters out to help keep traffic movingpublished at 10:34 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
That's right, the gritters really have been out and about, but instead of stopping your cars sliding around on ice, they're doing the rounds in Bedfordshire in an attempt to stop the roads from melting.
“By proactively using our fleet of highways gritters to protect our roads, this will aim to reduce the extremely high road surface temperatures and keep the road network safe and moving,” says Ian Dalgarno, from Central Bedfordshire Council.
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A14 closed for hours as surface buckles in heatpublished at 10:21 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
High temperatures cause the dual carriageway to "rise and then crack", National Highways says.
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Firefighters attend Biggleswade grass firepublished at 10:14 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
"As the temperature continues to rise, so does the risk of grass fires."
That's the message from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service after it attended a fire in a field near Bells Brook, Biggleswade, on Monday night.
Crews worked to get the blaze under control quickly using beaters and high pressure lances, it added.
Image source, Biggleswade Community Fire Station
"In this weather, you can help prevent dry grass from catching alight.
"Make sure you get rid of cigarettes safely, keep your BBQs off of dry grass, and never leave glass lying around - it can magnify the sun's rays and start a fire", it added.
Luton Airport resumes flights after runway repairspublished at 10:04 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
Engineers rushed to repair the runway after extreme heat caused some of it to lift.
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Avoid the sun between 11:00 and 15:00published at 10:01 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
The East Anglian Ambulance Service has said that there are several health risks with the extreme heat.
Its advising everyone, external to stay out of the sun between 11:00 BST and 15:00, to drink plenty of water and to close curtains in rooms that face the sun.
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A 'tropical night' for many placespublished at 09:28 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
It's already a few degrees warmer in many places across the East of England than it was at this time on Monday.
We'll have more updates from Dan throughout the day from the BBC Look East weather office (well, the small room used by our regional forecasters, he'll show you round later).
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Northants friendly called off due to heatpublished at 09:17 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
To keep fans, players and officials safe, tonight's Northampton Town pre-season fixture at AFC Rushden & Diamonds has been cancelled.
The Cobblers said all tickets will be refunded. , external
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Do not travel on trainspublished at 09:02 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
The advice from Network Rail is not to travel as it has issued a "red zone" weather warning.
Thameslink, will not run into London....
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and East Midlands Railway said there will be no train service into London.
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A quick hot weather round-up from Mondaypublished at 08:33 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
A high of 38.1C (100.6F) was recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk, making Monday the hottest day of the year so far.
The village was the hottest place in UK on Monday with other areas in the county also getting above 37C (98.6F).
The current highest temperature in the UK is 38.7C (101.7F), recorded in Cambridge in July 2019.
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Cambridge also had temperatures above 37C (98.6F) on Monday
Temperatures are forecast to hit 41C (106F) in Santon Downham and other part of the east today.
Flights were suspended at Luton Airport on Monday after a section of the runway lifted due to the hot weather, the airport said. EasyJet said several flights had been diverted to nearby airports, while some others were cancelled as a result.
Northamptonshire's cricketers to finish early due to heatpublished at 08:19 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
BBC Sport
The opening day of County Championship game between Northamptonshire and Lancashire on Tuesday has been shortened due to the red extreme heat warning.
Play will finish at 16:30 BST instead of 18:00 in the "interest of spectator and player welfare".
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The players for Northamptonshire and Lancashire will have one drinks interval per session
As a consequence, 30 minutes would be added to play on days two, three and four to make up the time.
Northamptonshire said those with a general admission ticket for Tuesday can also use their ticket for entry on day two of the match.
There is no change to Essex's game at the Oval against Surrey.
Tuesday's forecastpublished at 07:49 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
It's going to be hot today but just how hot? Here's the BBC's Kate Kinsella with that all important forecast for the East of England.
Media caption,
UK heatwave: The weather forecast for Tuesday
Rail disruption, delays and cancellations to continuepublished at 07:35 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
Rail services to and from Peterborough will be severely disrupted due to high temperatures.
The East Coast Main Line, connecting London and Edinburgh, will be closed between 12:00 and 20:00 BST.
But many operators said they would not run any trains all day.
Thameslink, London North Eastern Railway, East Midlands Railway, Great Northern and CrossCountry said no trains would be running to and from Peterborough.
Image caption,
Network Rail said people should only travel if absolutely necessary
Many other operators in the region such as Greater Anglia, London North Western, and c2c said they would be running fewer trains.
East Midlands Railway slashed its timetable for London, where temperatures are expected to peak, with only one train per hour - compared to the normal two - between the capital and Corby and Kettering.
Heatwave: How are schools affected?published at 07:33 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
Some schools are preparing to close completely or early today and relax uniform rules to cope with rising temperatures.
Most schools will contact parents directly to let them know how children will be affected but some councils also have information on their websites.
- Central Bedfordshire, external
- Bedford, external
- Luton - schools will issue any specific instructions or advice on local arrangements
- Buckinghamshire, external
- Milton Keynes - no information, contact individual schools
- Cambridgeshire, external- the county council says any school closures will be communicated to parents via their school or college but there is a list on the website
- Essex, external
- Hertfordshire, external- the county council says to contact your child’s school directly to see if they're open on a day of severe weather
- Norfolk, external
- Northamptonshire - North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire councils say it is the responsibility of the school or academy to notify of a closure and has a schools directory , externalon its website to find the contact details.
- Suffolk, external
It's going to be another hot one 🥵published at 07:25 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
Image source, BBC Weather Watcher Nicholas
Image caption,
Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk on Monday
A red extreme heat warning by the Met Office remains in place for Tuesday for parts of our region with temperatures forecast to hit 41C (106F) - and possibly higher.
A national emergency has been declared and people are being advised once again to try to keep as cool as they can.
As temperatures rise, we'll be here to show you how the East of England is being affected.
Good morningpublished at 07:08 British Summer Time 19 July 2022
Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/TracyRoyston
Morning... how did you sleep last night? Welcome to day two of our coverage of the UK heatwave and its impact across the BBC East region.
We'll have updates throughout the day, we'd love to see your pictures and we'll have weather forecaster Dan Holley with us from 10:00 BST. Thanks to BBC Weather Watcher TracyRoyston for our first image of the day - sunrise in Hertfordshire.
To get in touch email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or find us on Twitter @BBCLookEast, external.