Cambridgeshire police shared this image of the roads in Doddington where emergency repair work is going on. Photo/Twitter
Cambridgeshire police shared this image of the roads in Doddington where emergency repair work is going on. Photo/Twitter
The heat is on in the United Kingdom and it's not just the people wilting like delicate English roses in the Great British Heatwave of 2017.
Roads are melting, rail lines are buckling, and air is polluting. The newspapers are outdoing each other in declaring temperature records: according to theTelegraph, today could be the hottest June day in 176 years; the Guardian declares it's the hottest since 1976.
But in perhaps the greatest indicator that all hell has broken loose in the deadly, temperatures-as-high-as-34C heatwave, the organisers of Royal Ascot are even considering relaxing the famously formal race meeting's dress code.
Has the world gone topsy-turvy?
Apparently even the notorious English stiff upper lip cannot be maintained when drenched in beads of sweat.
As reported on Monday, the Poms, they are a whingein', as temperatures continue to climb above 30C in London and England's southern regions, with little to no respite from the "killer heatwave" (their words).
But in a country built on almost year round gloomy weather, the infrastructure is suffering nearly as much as the residents.
The Telegraph reports that in Cambridgeshire County Council, home to the famously elite Cambridge University, motorists have complained that their tyres have ripped tarmac from roads as the surface area reaches an almost unheard of 40C.
The council has been forced to deploy gritters, specialist vehicles that sprinkle gritty substances such as sand on the road, in a bid to curb the problem.
It comes after many regional rail services were slashed, as the country endured its longest stretch of hot June days in more than two decades.
Trains have been forced to cut travelling speeds, amid fears rail lines could buckle in the heat.
Part of the A222 in Summerhill, in Chislehurst, Kent, was closed this morning due to a hazardous sinkhole. Photo/Twitter
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also issued an air pollution alert for the city, The Guardian reports, with southerly winds expected to blow toxic air across England and Wales on Wednesday.
London temperatures are forecast to reach the almost unheard of June high of 34C on Wednesday, following a string of days over 30C that has seen weather records across the nation's south tumble.
Even parts of Scotland were forecast to reach into the mid 20C range.
The national health authority, Public Health England, has issued a level three health alert, one tier below the level four national emergency, as they prepare for heat-related deaths.
Thousands of people have been flocking to Brighton and Bournemouth beaches in England's south, and a teenager and woman have drowned in separate incidents while swimming this week.
At the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony to celebrate the Queen's birthday on Saturday, six guards in full uniform, including bearskin, were hospitalised after fainting during the ceremony when temperatures hit 25C.
When the dress code doesn't quite match the climate: Prince Philip and the Queen on day 1 of Royal Ascot on Tuesday, with a couple of gents in three piece suit prisons. Photo/Getty Images
Now, the organisers of Royal Ascot are considering relaxing the event's dress code for its second day on Wednesday, according to The Guardian, with temperatures forecast to reach 34C.
They are considering allowing men to remove their suit jackets and top hats at the race meeting.
"It's being considered. We're waiting for confirmation. It's never happened before," a spokeswoman said.
The rather strict dress code for the royal enclosure demands men wear black or grey morning dress with a waistcoats and tie and a black or grey top hate.
Cravats are not accepted in place of a tie.
Cambridge University students strip off to celebrate the end of the academic year. Photo/AAP
For women, there are a suite of rules, largely banning the bearing of flesh.
No short skirts, spaghetti straps, halter necks or bare stomachs allowed.
