London: The UK broke all its temperature history on Tuesday when Heathrow in south-west London recorded 40.2 degrees Celsius on the hottest day ever experienced in the country.
The Meteorological (Met) Office said the readings are provisional as the temperatures are expected to soar even further with other regions reporting their readings at different times of the day.
Places along the A1/M1 corridor are expected to see up to 42C later. Scotland is also expected to surpass its historic reading of 32.9C. In Wales, Rhyl, Flintshire, recorded 33.4C at 11:00 BST, BBC reported.
The Met Office has issued a red extreme heat warning covering much of central, northern, and south-east England.
Network Rail has warned against travel, road surfaces have warped, and a number of power cuts have been reported across Yorkshire. At least five people have died in and around water over the past two days amid warnings about the dangers of open water, BBC added.
Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK’s rail network could not cope with the extreme heat, adding that it would take “many years” before upgrades would mean services could handle the hotter climate.
“The simple answer is no, the network cannot cope with the heat right now,” he told the BBC.
Water companies in southern and eastern England have warned that increased demand is leading to low pressure, and even interrupted supply, for some households.
