Britain’s weather service recently issued its first-ever “red warning,” predicting extreme temperatures for early in the week, and today, measurements at Heathrow Airport climbed above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time ever. Residents were urged to stay indoors and not to travel unnecessarily during the hottest times of day. Several fires have broken out, and the extreme heat has affected travel—buckling rails, and damaging roads and runways. Gathered below are images of some of the effects of this heat wave, and some of the ways people are coping with it.
Photos: The U.K. Reaches Its Highest Temperature Ever
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![A police officer givers water to a British soldier wearing a traditional bearskin hat.]()
Read moreA police officer gives water to a British soldier wearing a traditional bearskin hat, on guard duty outside Buckingham Palace, during hot weather in London, England, on July 18, 2022. #
Matt Dunham / AP -
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![People sit on dry grass on a hillside in a park overlooking part of London.]()
Read morePeople sit on the parched grass in Greenwich Park with the National Maritime Museum and Canary Wharf financial district in the background in London, England, on July 17, 2022. #
Tony Hicks / AP -
![Several firefighters use tools to beat a brushfire.]()
Read moreFirefighters attend a gorse bush fire, during a heat wave near Zennor, Cornwall, England, on July 19, 2022. #
Tom Nicholson / Reuters -
![Hundreds of people are seeing gathered on a beach in a British seaside resort.]()
Read moreBeachgoers enjoy the sun and the sea in Blackpool, England, on July 17, 2022. #
Oli Scarff / AFP / Getty -
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![An ice cream vendor uses a scoop to place ice cream in a cone.]()
Read moreA man sells vegan ice cream in Hackney on July 17, 2022, in London, England. #
Hollie Adams / Getty -
![Striations are seen on the recently-exposed shoreline of a drying reservoir.]()
Read moreThe dried-out bed and reduced water levels in the Thruscross Reservoir are seen during a heatwave on July 19, 2022, in Harrogate, England. #
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![Several deer rest in the shade in a park.]()
Read moreDeer rest in the shade during hot weather in London's Richmond Park on July 19, 2022. #
Toby Melville / Reuters -
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![A view looking up toward a small balcony, where a woman sunbathes while reading a book.]()
Read moreA woman sunbathes on a balcony in Hackney on July 17, 2022, in London. #
Hollie Adams / Getty -
![Several people sit in chairs near a table and barbecue, all set up in a shallow stream.]()
Read moreMembers of the public cool off by having a barbecue in Luss Water near Loch Lomond on July 18, 2022, in Luss, Scotland. #
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty -
![An elephant cools down under a water spray.]()
Read moreAn Asian elephant cools down under a water spray at Chester Zoo in Chester, England, on July 19, 2022. #
Phil Noble / Reuters -
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![A man sits under an umbrella on a rocky beach.]()
Read moreA man sits under an umbrella on Brighton Beach, during a heat wave on July 19, 2022. #
Peter Cziborra / Reuters -
![A person plays in a fountain, holding an umbrella upside down.]()
Read moreA member of the "Australian Cabaret and Circus Troupe" cools down in a fountain on the South Bank in London on July 19, 2022. #
Frank Augstein / AP -
![People swim in a clear, suspended swimming pool bridge.]()
Read morePeople swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent acrylic swimming-pool bridge that is fixed between two apartment blocks, at Embassy Gardens, in London, on July 17, 2022. #
Justin Tallis / AFP / Getty -
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![Black smoke rises above houses, seen from a road.]()
Read moreA car drives near a fire that broke out in east London on July 19, 2022. #
Tony O'Brien / Reuters -
![A view of smoldering ground and burned trees.]()
Read moreBurned woodland is seen on Dartford Heath following a fire on July 19, 2022, in Dartford, England. A series of grass fires broke out around the British capital amid an intense heat wave. #
Carl Court / Getty -
![A man pours water from a bottle over his head and neck.]()
Read moreA man pours water over himself on Westminster Bridge on July 19, 2022, in London. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
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![A woman sits with a water bottle as several paramedics tend to her.]()
Read moreA spectator receives water from paramedics amid scorching temperatures at a cricket match in Chester-le-Street, England, on July 19, 2022. #
Lee Smith / Action Images / Reuters -
![A man sunbathes on grass near the Tower Bridge in London.]()
Read moreA man shields his eyes from the sun as he sunbathes backdropped by Tower Bridge in London, on July 19, 2022. #
Tony Hicks / AP -
![Two women lay back to dip their hair into the water of a fountain.]()
Read moreTwo women dip their hair into the fountain to cool off in London's Trafalgar Square on July 19, 2022. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
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![A cat sits on a windowsill, looking outside on a hot day.]()
Read moreA cat sits on a windowsill on a hot day in London on July 17, 2022. #
Hollie Adams / Getty -
![An underwater view of somebody swimming in a swimming pool.]()
Read morePeople enjoy an early-morning swim in the cool water of Jesus Green Lido as the temperatures begin to rise on July 18, 2022, in Cambridge, England. #
Leon Neal / Getty -
![A sunrise view of two cyclists on a curving road.]()
Read moreCyclists ride through Richmond Park at sunrise during a heat wave in London, on July 18, 2022. #
Hannah Mckay / Reuters -
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![A young performer sits on a blanket with others, using a small fan to cool herself.]()
Read moreA Highland dancer fans herself in the heat as she waits to compete at the Inveraray Highland Games on July 19, 2022, in Inveraray, Scotland. #
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty -
![Two people sit back-to-back in a shallow river as others behind them play in the water.]()
Read morePeople sit in the River Dove in Dovedale, in Derbyshire, England, on July 19, 2022. #
Carl Recine / Reuters -
![A person working in an ice cream van is seen holding a water bottle to their forehead.]()
Read moreAn ice-cream vendor uses a bottle of water to cool down in London's Hyde Park on July 19, 2022. #
Toby Melville / Reuters -
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