Boiling Britain set for historic 39C meltdown as consultants warn it is ‘too sizzling to work’
Britain faces a historic 39C ‘heat dome’ meltdown this week, threatening to smash records and trigger a £1.5bn productivity crash as it gets too hot to work
Britain will be hotter than the Sahara as a 600 mile-wide ‘heat dome’ sees a 39C meltdown(Image: Getty Images)
Boiling Britain will be hotter than the Sahara as a 600 mile-wide “heat dome” sees a 39C (102F) meltdown this week – smashing the June record and nudging the UK’s hottest day in history. HR experts also warned Britain will be too hot to work, with the economy facing a £1.5billion bill from a ten per cent slump in staff productivity this week due to the “super heatwave.”
Roads will melt and rail lines warp as the Met Office forecast 34C on Monday, 38C on Tuesday, 39C on Wednesday, 38C on Thursday and 33C on Friday, with the highest temperatures at London Heathrow.
Highs are set to surge past the UK’s 35.6C June temperature record, set in 1976 in Southampton.
Over 38.7C would be Britain’s second-hottest day ever recorded, behind only the record 40.3C (104.5F) on July 19, 2022, at Coningsby, Lincs. Britain will be hotter than 35C Tamanrasset, Algeria, in the Sahara Desert.
Even the North is due 32C. The roast comes after the record 35C hottest spring temperatures ever recorded in May. Netweather forecaster Nick Finnis said: “Insane temperatures are forecast this week.”
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “We really are looking at an incredible period of hot weather. You might want to take a seat before looking at maximum temperatures this week. Extreme heat warnings are in force for what could be an historic week of weather.”
A Met Office forecaster said: “37C is forecast on Tuesday, with the peak of the heatwave on Wednesday and Thursday, when temperatures are expected to climb to 38C. Friday sees highs of 33C. Isolated thundery downpours are possible from Monday.”
It comes as boffins said Britain was officially too hot to work. The Met Office issued an amber extreme heat alert, warning: “A change in working practices is required.” Staff productivity will slump by 10 per cent this week, analysis shows.
The Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics has said: “We usually see productivity drops around eight per cent when temperatures go above 30C. Heatwaves hit some industries hard.”
An eight per cent drop in productivity would for five working days would cost the economy £1.5billion, based on daily economy productivity of £5billion from an eight-hour working day, Office of National Statistics figures show.
Kate Palmer, HR director at consultants Peninsula said: “High temperatures can cause a slump in productivity, so employers should think of ways to make the heat more manageable. It may help to relax dress codes.”
