Parish Jottings

Heatwave

On the 17^th until the 19^th of July we experienced an intense heatwave as heat from Africa was blown up to Europe and then Great Britain. On Sunday the 17^th we felt like we were actually in Israel as we walked to church and even the coolness you often get in the church was warmer than usual.

On Monday the 18^th the mercury rose even higher and the Met Office issued their first ever red warning for Britain: don't go out unless it is essential, don't exercise and stay hydrated. Those who did go out felt like they were melting but the worst was still yet to come.

On Tuesday the 19^th, Britain experienced the hottest ever day on record at 40.3°C (104.5°F). Cars exploded due to the heat, runways at airports melted and train rails buckled. A reservoir in York dried up, as did the Aysgarth Falls on the River Ure. Water companies were worried about estimates of 100s of millions of extra litres being used each day. The RSPCA was issuing reports on how to keep dogs cool and reminding you never to leave them in a car. People kept the curtains drawn during the day, garden plants got scorched and six people died.

With it being the driest July for 111 years, it's a wonder there wasn't a hose pipe ban. Also due to the lack of rain as well as the baking temperatures the ground was as dry as tinder and this caused fires in London which main land Europe had already been experiencing.

The temperature was hotter than the Sahara with Tuesday's weather in Timbuktu being two degrees cooler than here.

The next days were still uncomfortably hot but after Tuesday, they felt Arctic. There was only a tiny amount of rain and a short shower of hail stones after and more heat is expected. Due to climate change we could be expecting this every other year.

Henley Piazza café, overlooking Mill Meadows and the river Thames,
in Holy Trinity church parish, Henley on Thames