British heat wave report on youtube
People in Britain got a welcome break from their usual rain and misery recently when a heatwave broke out across the country. During the end of June and beginning of July temperatures rocketed to a whopping 35 Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), the hottest in three years. It was also the highest recorded temperature in June for many years – the average for June is 19-22 degrees Celcius (around 70 degrees Fahrenheit).
Yet one of the things that’s bound to happen in a country which hardly ever sees a ‘proper’ summer, people start to go a bit loopy.
Sun Worshipper Stampede
The first thing British people do when even the smallest amount of sun is spotted is get their kit off. With temperatures like this you can’t but avoid swarms of sunbathers trying to get a natural tan for once, jostling for space in the best suntanning spots. No doubt doctors surgeries will get more than a few patients through their doors with worrying signs of skin cancer.
The Grass Is Always Greener
True to form, the British mentality can’t deal with simply being happy and counting there blessings for more than a few days. As sure as the sun sets, people soon started to complain about it being too hot, getting nostalgic about how cool it was last week. And, inevitably, there were petitions to demand the government do something about the awful hot weather and lack of air conditioning in public places!
Fan Stampede
While one half of the UK population are getting into their beach wear and throwing themselves on deckchairs directly under the sun, the remainder rushes down to the high street and sucks up the entire stock of desk fans like some sweaty, many-headed monster. According to Google, searches for the term “portable air conditioner” in the UK went from 9,900 in May to 49,500 in June!
The Inevitable Demise
However these kinds of weather conditions are doomed to die out in the UK, and a week later the country was swept with heavy wind and rain.The yo-yoing between extreme weather patterns is certainly worrying for environmental campaigners as an example of climate change in effect.Now, of course, the UK public is now starting to complain about the rain and harking back to the heatwave. I suppose you just cannot win.
