Emergency services faced their highest number of life-threatening calls as London sweltered in another day of extreme heat.
Thursday became the hottest June day ever recorded in the UK after temperatures hit 36.7C in Somerset, breaking the previous record of 36.1C set in Hampshire just a day earlier.
London reached 32C on Thursday, slightly down on Wednesday’s peak, but temperatures are expected to climb again on Friday, with highs of up to 36C forecast.
A red weather warning remains in force until midnight.
The London Ambulance Service said crews responded to a record 642 Category 1 incidents on Wednesday — the highest number of life-threatening emergencies the service has ever dealt with in a single day.
In total, the service received almost 7,900 calls, making it its fifth busiest day on record, while ambulance crews treated nearly 3,600 patients.
Chief Executive Jason Killens said: “We have seen the highest number of life-threatening emergencies in our history, driven by the extreme heat across London.
“Our crews are working very hard in challenging conditions to care for patients, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our people for their incredible hard work.”
LAS has put more than 400 additional ambulance crews on the road this week to cope with demand during the heatwave.
Schools and nurseries have closed, a hosepipe ban has been brought in for Kent amid surging demand, transport services have been disrupted and one rail operator has urged people not to travel for beach trips because of the extreme heat.
The Elizabeth line was running fewer trains between Paddington and Heathrow Terminals 4 and 5 because of heat-related restrictions on Thursday, while Heathrow Express was also operating a reduced service.
Meanwhile, footfall in central London at 9am on Thursday morning was down around 14% on the same time last week, according to O2 motion data.
A number of businesses and offices in London have closed or reduced their hours this week.
High temperatures creating “uncomfortably hot” working conditions have forced many eateries, shops and salons to shut.
With Londoners heading to beaches and lidos to escape the heat, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has urged schools to step up water safety messaging after several drownings during this year’s heatwaves.
At least 15 people, mainly children and teenagers, drowned in open water during late May’s hot spell, despite warnings about the potential dangers of cooling off in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and canals.
Ms Phillipson said: “My message to parents and to children is just to be really careful, and I’m working with schools and encouraging schools to share water safety advice and water safety lessons with children.”
She added: “And whilst I understand the desire of people to spend time in open water we just need to make sure we keep children safe.
“I’m encouraging schools to share that material with parents and with children so that they have the best understanding about how to keep themselves safe.”
Anglian Water said it has no plans to introduce a hosepipe ban this year – but is urging customers to “use less water wherever they can”.
The current heatwave is driven by a “heat-dome” – an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat – settling over western Europe and bringing extreme conditions across the continent.
Human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense.
Greg Wolverson, deputy chief meteorologist said: “We’ve seen a new provisional June maximum temperature record for a second consecutive day as the heatwave continues.
“This marks unprecedented heat for the month of June and provides further evidence of how high temperature extremes are becoming increasingly common in the UK as a result of human-induced climate change.
“There’s a chance of this record being challenged again as the warmth moves more markedly east on Friday, before a gradual easing in temperatures through the weekend.”
© The Standard Ltd