London: Hottest July Day Ever!
Jul 19th, 2006, 06:19 AM
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London: Hottest July Day Ever!
Just on BBC - they had a report saying that today the temps in London reached 37 d C or about 100 d F! and they said this was an all-time London record for July.
They went on to interview tube riders - apparently temps in the tube reached nearly 120 F at places and on buses 125 F real temps and folks were complaining about the lack of air conditioning.
Well as for buses TFL (Transport for London) officials have sprung into action - their novel air conditioning approach is to equip buses with windows that open! Currently the lack of even windows that open create an oven inside the omnibuses.
One commentator said London resembled a nudist colony as folks had the scimpiest of attire - and, he lamented, that many showing skin should not be and it was at times a disgusting sight!
Well i guess beer sales could reach record highs as well!
They went on to interview tube riders - apparently temps in the tube reached nearly 120 F at places and on buses 125 F real temps and folks were complaining about the lack of air conditioning.
Well as for buses TFL (Transport for London) officials have sprung into action - their novel air conditioning approach is to equip buses with windows that open! Currently the lack of even windows that open create an oven inside the omnibuses.
One commentator said London resembled a nudist colony as folks had the scimpiest of attire - and, he lamented, that many showing skin should not be and it was at times a disgusting sight!
Well i guess beer sales could reach record highs as well!
Jul 19th, 2006, 06:35 AM
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Yes, fashion rules have gone about the window! FYI, I've been on those buses with windows that open and they help very little--the windows are small and don't add much in the way of ventilation when stuck in London gridlock traffic.
I just checked the temp in our back garden. In the shade, it's 35 degrees, or about 95F. In the sun, it's simply too too hot.
We have a stone birdbath that is always in the shade as it sits under a small tree. We change the water daily and because the birdbath is stone, it keeps the water cool all day. Whole families of sparrows and nuthatches hang around for hours, drinking and bathing, then snacking on the two types of hanging suet and bird seed in the feeders. It's their own little holiday resort.
Last summer, we bought a portable air conditioner that keeps the temperature in our loft (attic) study about 77 degrees. Without the AC, it would be way over 100 degrees up here.
Until the heat wave breaks, all I'm doing is loafing in the house, reading, Fodoring, watching TV. I've got plenty of cheese, veg and fruit, (no cooking) and sparkling water in the fridge. The dog doesn't get her walk until 8 pm and afterwards she gets a "cool down" spray in the tub.
Yesterday, the trains going through Maidenhead weren't running properly, almost all trains delayed and they had to use old buses with windows that did not open for parts of the route between London and Oxford. What a mess for those hot, stressed out commuters. It will be the same story this afternoon.
Anyone flying into or leaving London via Heathrow this week, it is DEFINITELY worth spending the extra ££ for the air conditioned Heathrow Express rather than taking the cheap but overheated Tube.
I just checked the temp in our back garden. In the shade, it's 35 degrees, or about 95F. In the sun, it's simply too too hot.
We have a stone birdbath that is always in the shade as it sits under a small tree. We change the water daily and because the birdbath is stone, it keeps the water cool all day. Whole families of sparrows and nuthatches hang around for hours, drinking and bathing, then snacking on the two types of hanging suet and bird seed in the feeders. It's their own little holiday resort.
Last summer, we bought a portable air conditioner that keeps the temperature in our loft (attic) study about 77 degrees. Without the AC, it would be way over 100 degrees up here.
Until the heat wave breaks, all I'm doing is loafing in the house, reading, Fodoring, watching TV. I've got plenty of cheese, veg and fruit, (no cooking) and sparkling water in the fridge. The dog doesn't get her walk until 8 pm and afterwards she gets a "cool down" spray in the tub.
Yesterday, the trains going through Maidenhead weren't running properly, almost all trains delayed and they had to use old buses with windows that did not open for parts of the route between London and Oxford. What a mess for those hot, stressed out commuters. It will be the same story this afternoon.
Anyone flying into or leaving London via Heathrow this week, it is DEFINITELY worth spending the extra ££ for the air conditioned Heathrow Express rather than taking the cheap but overheated Tube.
Jul 19th, 2006, 06:49 AM
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Three times in recent weeks, I have needed to complain to bus drivers about heating being switched on. As others have said, opening windows are quite inadequate: they are only effective when the bus is moving at a reasonable speed, which is rare in London's traffic. The old buses (Routemasters) had more opening windows and were much better suited to London's traffic conditions. The modern buses resemble saunas, and it's hardly surprising people undress in order to feel more comfortable.
Jul 19th, 2006, 06:58 AM
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BTike: by the way i've been watching the Brussels temps for weeks now and they have been in the 80s mainly and now i suspect also near 100 - i will revise my thinking about AC in Brussels and elsewhere as it seems that indeed something, either natural or man caused has resulted in radically different weather than just a few years ago - remember in the Brussels post i relayed my ten years of bike trips in Belgium and said it rarely got warm enough to work up a sweat - that was true then but apparently not now. AC seems to be imperative now in summer in Brussels and London. Best wishes. PQ
Jul 19th, 2006, 07:03 AM
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PalQ, I'm in Brussels now and it's sweltering (approx 36 C)! Finally got permission to leave work early as it was over 35 C in our offices. The hot weather is set to break though, with storms predicted for tonight and tomorrow.
Jul 19th, 2006, 07:17 AM
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PalQ and Hanl, yes it is hot. People said the same thing to us about Brussels weather as they did when we moved from Philadelphia to Eugene, OR: "it's always cool and rainy." We arrived in Eugene to six weeks of sunshine, no rain, and blazing heat.
My husband is in Brussels all this week and fortunately our flat in the Ixelles part of town is partly at basement level and surprisingly cool at night. He's leaving work early to stop at the Chatelain street market.
This week-end is a holiday week-end in Belgium and I told him to go do some sightseeing instead of coming home to chores in hot, muggy Berkshire. So he's hitting the road early Friday morning to Baden-Baden, staying there a couple of nights and doing a day trip to Basel via train on Saturday. He's booked into an air conditioned hotel and will probably do one of the spas as well. Nice way to beat the heat!
My husband is in Brussels all this week and fortunately our flat in the Ixelles part of town is partly at basement level and surprisingly cool at night. He's leaving work early to stop at the Chatelain street market.
This week-end is a holiday week-end in Belgium and I told him to go do some sightseeing instead of coming home to chores in hot, muggy Berkshire. So he's hitting the road early Friday morning to Baden-Baden, staying there a couple of nights and doing a day trip to Basel via train on Saturday. He's booked into an air conditioned hotel and will probably do one of the spas as well. Nice way to beat the heat!
Jul 19th, 2006, 10:01 AM
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Well, it seems the British heat wave has made the AP wire services with this headline:
"Ill-Equipped Britain Hit by Heat Wave"
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060719/ap_on_re_eu/europe_heat_wave
One excerpt:
Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but this is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.
Yup, I'll second that.
"Ill-Equipped Britain Hit by Heat Wave"
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060719/ap_on_re_eu/europe_heat_wave
One excerpt:
Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but this is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.
Yup, I'll second that.
Jul 19th, 2006, 10:06 AM
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"Never mind, it will be chucking it down by the weekend and we'll be digging out our sweaters and gumboots"
PL, wear did you see that? Just checked the BBC weather site and week-end temps are still supposed to be around 30 degrees C and muggy. I won't be digging out my sweaters for that. Although it would be nice...would love to see our neighborhood green turn green again instead of parched and brown.
PL, wear did you see that? Just checked the BBC weather site and week-end temps are still supposed to be around 30 degrees C and muggy. I won't be digging out my sweaters for that. Although it would be nice...would love to see our neighborhood green turn green again instead of parched and brown.
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:33 PM
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Nobody said 20/70 degrees equals a heatwave. What on earth are you talking about? And where in southeast England may I find daytime highs of 20 degrees C this week? Please let me know, I'll pack a bag immediately.
Jul 19th, 2006, 02:27 PM
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BTilke, I sooo relate to the Oregon rain warnings..we arrived here in warm dry weather and this weekend we expect 100F + on Sat and Sun..
Fashion rules here have been out the window for some time, I imagine LOL
I am wondering how the barristers in their robes and wigs are managing .. the Guards at the Palaces etc?
Fashion rules here have been out the window for some time, I imagine LOL
I am wondering how the barristers in their robes and wigs are managing .. the Guards at the Palaces etc?
Jul 19th, 2006, 02:38 PM
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Well, there was a wonderful report on ZDF TV this evening, how Brits are whining about the weather 
. (Unfortunately only in German). In winter it's always too cold for them and too warm in summer, "cold weather brings chaos as well as warm weather everything's totally unorganized, even the pavement is of such a low quality that they've got problems".
Basically, they were making fun of the Brits, liked it a lot ;-)
. (Unfortunately only in German). In winter it's always too cold for them and too warm in summer, "cold weather brings chaos as well as warm weather everything's totally unorganized, even the pavement is of such a low quality that they've got problems". Basically, they were making fun of the Brits, liked it a lot ;-)
Jul 19th, 2006, 02:49 PM
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"Author: PalQ
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:19 am
Just on BBC - they had a report saying that today the temps in London reached 37 d C or about 100 d F! and they said this was an all-time London record for July.
They went on to interview tube riders - apparently temps in the tube reached nearly 120 F at places and on buses 125 F real temps and folks were complaining about the lack of air conditioning.
Well as for buses TFL (Transport for London) officials have sprung into action - their novel air conditioning approach is to equip buses with windows that open! Currently the lack of even windows that open create an oven inside the omnibuses.
One commentator said London resembled a nudist colony as folks had the scimpiest of attire - and, he lamented, that many showing skin should not be and it was at times a disgusting sight!
Well i guess beer sales could reach record highs as well!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:35 am
Yes, fashion rules have gone about the window! FYI, I've been on those buses with windows that open and they help very little--the windows are small and don't add much in the way of ventilation when stuck in London gridlock traffic.
I just checked the temp in our back garden. In the shade, it's 35 degrees, or about 95F. In the sun, it's simply too too hot.
We have a stone birdbath that is always in the shade as it sits under a small tree. We change the water daily and because the birdbath is stone, it keeps the water cool all day. Whole families of sparrows and nuthatches hang around for hours, drinking and bathing, then snacking on the two types of hanging suet and bird seed in the feeders. It's their own little holiday resort.
Last summer, we bought a portable air conditioner that keeps the temperature in our loft (attic) study about 77 degrees. Without the AC, it would be way over 100 degrees up here.
Until the heat wave breaks, all I'm doing is loafing in the house, reading, Fodoring, watching TV. I've got plenty of cheese, veg and fruit, (no cooking) and sparkling water in the fridge. The dog doesn't get her walk until 8 pm and afterwards she gets a "cool down" spray in the tub.
Yesterday, the trains going through Maidenhead weren't running properly, almost all trains delayed and they had to use old buses with windows that did not open for parts of the route between London and Oxford. What a mess for those hot, stressed out commuters. It will be the same story this afternoon.
Anyone flying into or leaving London via Heathrow this week, it is DEFINITELY worth spending the extra ££ for the air conditioned Heathrow Express rather than taking the cheap but overheated Tube.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: GeoffHamer
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:49 am
Three times in recent weeks, I have needed to complain to bus drivers about heating being switched on. As others have said, opening windows are quite inadequate: they are only effective when the bus is moving at a reasonable speed, which is rare in London's traffic. The old buses (Routemasters) had more opening windows and were much better suited to London's traffic conditions. The modern buses resemble saunas, and it's hardly surprising people undress in order to feel more comfortable.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: PalQ
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:58 am
BTike: by the way i've been watching the Brussels temps for weeks now and they have been in the 80s mainly and now i suspect also near 100 - i will revise my thinking about AC in Brussels and elsewhere as it seems that indeed something, either natural or man caused has resulted in radically different weather than just a few years ago - remember in the Brussels post i relayed my ten years of bike trips in Belgium and said it rarely got warm enough to work up a sweat - that was true then but apparently not now. AC seems to be imperative now in summer in Brussels and London. Best wishes. PQ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: hanl
Date: 07/19/2006, 11:03 am
PalQ, I'm in Brussels now and it's sweltering (approx 36 C)! Finally got permission to leave work early as it was over 35 C in our offices. The hot weather is set to break though, with storms predicted for tonight and tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 11:17 am
PalQ and Hanl, yes it is hot. People said the same thing to us about Brussels weather as they did when we moved from Philadelphia to Eugene, OR: "it's always cool and rainy." We arrived in Eugene to six weeks of sunshine, no rain, and blazing heat.
My husband is in Brussels all this week and fortunately our flat in the Ixelles part of town is partly at basement level and surprisingly cool at night. He's leaving work early to stop at the Chatelain street market.
This week-end is a holiday week-end in Belgium and I told him to go do some sightseeing instead of coming home to chores in hot, muggy Berkshire. So he's hitting the road early Friday morning to Baden-Baden, staying there a couple of nights and doing a day trip to Basel via train on Saturday. He's booked into an air conditioned hotel and will probably do one of the spas as well. Nice way to beat the heat!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: PatrickLondon
Date: 07/19/2006, 12:46 pm
Never mind, it will be chucking it down by the weekend and we'll be digging out our sweaters and gumboots.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Girlspytravel
Date: 07/19/2006, 02:01 pm
Well, it seems the British heat wave has made the AP wire services with this headline:
"Ill-Equipped Britain Hit by Heat Wave"
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060719/ap_on_re_eu/europe_heat_wave
One excerpt:
Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but this is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.
Yup, I'll second that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 02:06 pm
"Never mind, it will be chucking it down by the weekend and we'll be digging out our sweaters and gumboots"
PL, wear did you see that? Just checked the BBC weather site and week-end temps are still supposed to be around 30 degrees C and muggy. I won't be digging out my sweaters for that. Although it would be nice...would love to see our neighborhood green turn green again instead of parched and brown.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: alanRow
Date: 07/19/2006, 02:30 pm
Since when did 20C (70F) = Heatwave
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 04:33 pm
Nobody said 20/70 degrees equals a heatwave. What on earth are you talking about? And where in southeast England may I find daytime highs of 20 degrees C this week? Please let me know, I'll pack a bag immediately.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I was referring to the "ill equipped BRITAIN" headline"
I believe the point is that temps in the UK are 35C - which is a heat wave and Britain is ill-equipped for said heat wave...or perhaps I am missing something
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:19 am
Just on BBC - they had a report saying that today the temps in London reached 37 d C or about 100 d F! and they said this was an all-time London record for July.
They went on to interview tube riders - apparently temps in the tube reached nearly 120 F at places and on buses 125 F real temps and folks were complaining about the lack of air conditioning.
Well as for buses TFL (Transport for London) officials have sprung into action - their novel air conditioning approach is to equip buses with windows that open! Currently the lack of even windows that open create an oven inside the omnibuses.
One commentator said London resembled a nudist colony as folks had the scimpiest of attire - and, he lamented, that many showing skin should not be and it was at times a disgusting sight!
Well i guess beer sales could reach record highs as well!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:35 am
Yes, fashion rules have gone about the window! FYI, I've been on those buses with windows that open and they help very little--the windows are small and don't add much in the way of ventilation when stuck in London gridlock traffic.
I just checked the temp in our back garden. In the shade, it's 35 degrees, or about 95F. In the sun, it's simply too too hot.
We have a stone birdbath that is always in the shade as it sits under a small tree. We change the water daily and because the birdbath is stone, it keeps the water cool all day. Whole families of sparrows and nuthatches hang around for hours, drinking and bathing, then snacking on the two types of hanging suet and bird seed in the feeders. It's their own little holiday resort.
Last summer, we bought a portable air conditioner that keeps the temperature in our loft (attic) study about 77 degrees. Without the AC, it would be way over 100 degrees up here.
Until the heat wave breaks, all I'm doing is loafing in the house, reading, Fodoring, watching TV. I've got plenty of cheese, veg and fruit, (no cooking) and sparkling water in the fridge. The dog doesn't get her walk until 8 pm and afterwards she gets a "cool down" spray in the tub.
Yesterday, the trains going through Maidenhead weren't running properly, almost all trains delayed and they had to use old buses with windows that did not open for parts of the route between London and Oxford. What a mess for those hot, stressed out commuters. It will be the same story this afternoon.
Anyone flying into or leaving London via Heathrow this week, it is DEFINITELY worth spending the extra ££ for the air conditioned Heathrow Express rather than taking the cheap but overheated Tube.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: GeoffHamer
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:49 am
Three times in recent weeks, I have needed to complain to bus drivers about heating being switched on. As others have said, opening windows are quite inadequate: they are only effective when the bus is moving at a reasonable speed, which is rare in London's traffic. The old buses (Routemasters) had more opening windows and were much better suited to London's traffic conditions. The modern buses resemble saunas, and it's hardly surprising people undress in order to feel more comfortable.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: PalQ
Date: 07/19/2006, 10:58 am
BTike: by the way i've been watching the Brussels temps for weeks now and they have been in the 80s mainly and now i suspect also near 100 - i will revise my thinking about AC in Brussels and elsewhere as it seems that indeed something, either natural or man caused has resulted in radically different weather than just a few years ago - remember in the Brussels post i relayed my ten years of bike trips in Belgium and said it rarely got warm enough to work up a sweat - that was true then but apparently not now. AC seems to be imperative now in summer in Brussels and London. Best wishes. PQ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: hanl
Date: 07/19/2006, 11:03 am
PalQ, I'm in Brussels now and it's sweltering (approx 36 C)! Finally got permission to leave work early as it was over 35 C in our offices. The hot weather is set to break though, with storms predicted for tonight and tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 11:17 am
PalQ and Hanl, yes it is hot. People said the same thing to us about Brussels weather as they did when we moved from Philadelphia to Eugene, OR: "it's always cool and rainy." We arrived in Eugene to six weeks of sunshine, no rain, and blazing heat.
My husband is in Brussels all this week and fortunately our flat in the Ixelles part of town is partly at basement level and surprisingly cool at night. He's leaving work early to stop at the Chatelain street market.
This week-end is a holiday week-end in Belgium and I told him to go do some sightseeing instead of coming home to chores in hot, muggy Berkshire. So he's hitting the road early Friday morning to Baden-Baden, staying there a couple of nights and doing a day trip to Basel via train on Saturday. He's booked into an air conditioned hotel and will probably do one of the spas as well. Nice way to beat the heat!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: PatrickLondon
Date: 07/19/2006, 12:46 pm
Never mind, it will be chucking it down by the weekend and we'll be digging out our sweaters and gumboots.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Girlspytravel
Date: 07/19/2006, 02:01 pm
Well, it seems the British heat wave has made the AP wire services with this headline:
"Ill-Equipped Britain Hit by Heat Wave"
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060719/ap_on_re_eu/europe_heat_wave
One excerpt:
Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but this is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.
Yup, I'll second that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 02:06 pm
"Never mind, it will be chucking it down by the weekend and we'll be digging out our sweaters and gumboots"
PL, wear did you see that? Just checked the BBC weather site and week-end temps are still supposed to be around 30 degrees C and muggy. I won't be digging out my sweaters for that. Although it would be nice...would love to see our neighborhood green turn green again instead of parched and brown.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: alanRow
Date: 07/19/2006, 02:30 pm
Since when did 20C (70F) = Heatwave
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: BTilke
Date: 07/19/2006, 04:33 pm
Nobody said 20/70 degrees equals a heatwave. What on earth are you talking about? And where in southeast England may I find daytime highs of 20 degrees C this week? Please let me know, I'll pack a bag immediately.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I was referring to the "ill equipped BRITAIN" headline"
I believe the point is that temps in the UK are 35C - which is a heat wave and Britain is ill-equipped for said heat wave...or perhaps I am missing something
Jul 19th, 2006, 02:56 PM
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Well, there was a wonderful report on ZDF TV this evening, how Brits are whining about the weather . (Unfortunately only in German). In winter it's always too cold for them and too warm in summer, "cold weather brings chaos as well as warm weather everything's totally unorganized, even the pavement is of such a low quality that they've got problems".
Basically, they were making fun of the Brits, liked it a lot ;-)
. (Unfortunately only in German). In winter it's always too cold for them and too warm in summer, "cold weather brings chaos as well as warm weather everything's totally unorganized, even the pavement is of such a low quality that they've got problems".Basically, they were making fun of the Brits, liked it a lot ;-)
