‘Provisionally’ the hottest day on record in Wales as 35.3°C recorded in Ceredigion

Wales has provisionally recorded its hottest day on record, according to the Met Office.

The temperature reached 35.3C in Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth on the coast of mid-west Wales, on Monday.

It is thought to have broken the previous record of 35.2C in Hawarden, Flintshire, on August 2 1990.

The temperature needs to be verified before the record can be confirmed.

Hawarden experienced highs of 33C over the weekend, and BBC Wales’s senior meteorologist Derek Brockway predicted the mercury there could hit 36C or 37C, possibly breaking today’s record.

The extreme heatwave affecting all parts of the UK has prompted a rare amber weather warning to be issued by the Met Office across Wales, while parts of England are covered by a red weather warning due to a danger that temperatures could nudge 40 celsius.

📈 It’s provisionally the hottest day on record in Wales

🌡️ Gogerddan has reached 35.3°C so far today, exceeding the previous record high of 35.2°C, recorded at Hawarden Bridge, Flintshire on 2nd August 1990 #Heatwave2022#heatwave pic.twitter.com/jDhqhOFSVJ

— Met Office (@metoffice) July 18, 2022

Meteorologists have given an 80% chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C set in Cambridge in 2019, with the current heatwave set to peak on Tuesday.

The public have been urged not to travel unless necessary with conditions on public transport expected to be “uncomfortable”.

The speed limit on rail lines has been limited to 90mph, reduced from 125mph, meaning journeys will take longer.

People have also been warned to keep pets and livestock cool.

Royal Welsh Show

Farmers at the Royal Welsh Show near Builth Wells in Powys, the UK’s biggest agricultural event, are said to be taking measures to care for the around 8,000 animals attending.

Some are even smothering pigs in sun tan lotion, according to a BBC report.

Doctors have warned of a danger to life or potential serious illness from the blistering temperatures.

Recommended precautions include avoiding physical exercise, keeping to the shade and maintaining ventilation, drinking plenty of water and using in-date sun cream.

People have been warned against using rivers and lakes to cool off due to the dangers of swimming in open water.

A 16-year-old boy has died after getting into difficulty in Bray Lake, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, Thames Valley Police said.

And the body of a 50-year-old man was recovered from Ardsley Reservoir, between Leeds and Wakefield, on Sunday.

Railway services

Kevin Groves, chief spokesman for Network Rail, said journeys which typically take two hours could take “more than four hours” as emergency measures have been brought in to prevent trains derailing.

He told Sky News: “Certainly later on today that (buckling) is a strong possibility, which is why, from about midday today through till 8pm tonight, there will be large swathes of England and Wales that will have emergency heat-related speed restrictions placed on the rail network.”

People are being urged to stay inside during the hottest period of the day, between 11am and 4pm, and wear sun cream, a hat, stay in the shade and keep hydrated with water, and there are warnings about swimming in lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

Scientists at the Met Office have predicted that temperatures could reach 40C as a result of climate change, warning that that figure “could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence”.

Climate change, which has pushed average global temperatures up by around 1.2C and has caused drier soils, is making heatwaves longer, more intense and more likely.

Experts have warned of the need to adapt homes, cities and infrastructure in the UK for a future of more intense and deadly summer heat.