2013 Great Britain and Ireland heatwave

Weather event in the UK and Ireland The 2013 heatwave in the United Kingdom and Ireland was a period of unusually hot weather primarily in July 2013, with isolated warm days in June and August. A prolonged high pressure system over Great Britain and Ireland caused higher than average temperatures for 19 consecutive days in July, reaching 33.5 C at Heathrow and Northolt.http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2013/warm-july-stats July finishes in top three sunniest and warmest Met Office 5 August 2013 29 October 2013 Following a brief period of cooler weather at the end of July, temperatures temporarily rose again, peaking at 34.1 C on 1 August in the United Kingdom, the warmest the UK had seen since July 2006.http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2013/early-summer-stats Warmest, driest and sunniest summer since 2006 Met Office 30 August 2013 29 October 2013 Temperatures reached 31 C in Ireland.http://www.met.ie/MetAdmin/useruploads/file/clim-2013-sum.pdf Archived copy 2013-09-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20161002044552/http://www.met.ie/MetAdmin/useruploads/file/clim-2013-sum.pdf 2016-10-02 dead At 19 days, the July heatwave was the longest continuous period of hot weather in the UK since August 1997. Timeline On 4 July the Met Office predicted a long spell of warm weather over England and Wales to last until the middle of the month, with the south-east set to experience close to 30 C, and Scotland and Northern Ireland expected to avoid the warmest weather.https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/04/heatwave-july-england-wales-forecasters Heatwave to last until mid-July in England and Wales, say forecasters The Guardian London Haroon Siddique 4 July 2013 29 October 2013 In the following week temperatures reached 29.7 C on the south coasthttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10168095/Heatwave-expected-to-continue-until-the-weekend.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130711193827/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10168095/Heatwave-expected-to-continue-until-the-weekend.html dead 11 July 2013 Heatwave expected to continue until the weekend The Telegraph Telegraph Media Group London Claire Carter 9 July 2013 29 October 2013 and climbed to 30 C in Northern Ireland, the highest temperature seen there since 2006.http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/temperature-soars-to-30c-in-northern-ireland-as-heatwave-is-set-to-continue-29404669.html Temperature soars to 30C in Northern Ireland as heatwave is set to continue Belfast Telegraph Independent News & Media Linda Stewart 9 July 2013 29 October 2013 Heat waves in the United Kingdom are declared when the threshold maximum day temperature and a minimum night temperature are exceeded for at least two consecutive days. The threshold temperatures differ region by region, but the average is 30 C for the day and 15 C for the night.http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/weather-phenomena/heatwave Heatwave Met Office 29 October 2013 On 12 July, the Met Office released heat wave alerts across much of England, with Yorkshire and the Humber placed in the level three category out of four alert levels.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23283198 England heatwave alerts issued BBC News BBC 12 July 2013 29 October 2013 On 17 July, the Met Office upgraded London and South East England to level three following the fifth consecutive day of temperatures over 30 C.https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/17/met-office-health-alert-level-heatwave Met Office issues heatwave alert as temperatures pass 30C for fifth day The Guardian London Sam Jones 17 July 2013 29 October 2013 The heatwave ended on 23 July with heavy thunderstorms, bringing flooding and lightning strikes that caused delays on motorways and railways, power cuts and fires.https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/23/thunderstorms-lightning-break-british-heatwave Thunderstorms and lightning break British heatwave The Guardian London Steven Morris 23 July 2013 29 October 2013 Despite this, temperatures still remained above average for the time of year. On 29 July, another spell of thunderstorms hit the UK. Manchester for example was hit by three thunderstorms in eight hours. Three days later on 1 August, the temperatures rose again, recording the warmest August temperature since 2003.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-sees-hottest-august-temperatures-for-ten-years-as-heatwave-returns--but-just-for-a-day-8741465.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-sees-hottest-august-temperatures-for-ten-years-as-heatwave-returns--but-just-for-a-day-8741465.html 2022-05-01 subscription live Britain sees hottest August temperatures for ten years as heatwave returns - but just for a day... The Independent Independent Print Limited London Rob Williams 1 August 2013 29 October 2013 In some places, 1 August was warmer than all of the days in July. London Heathrow recorded 34.1 C, which exceeded the previous record of 33.5 C which was recorded on 22 July. By 2 August temperatures began to return to normal. Impact On 18 July, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reported that the first 9 days of the heat wave had caused up to an additional 760 deaths in the UK.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10187140/Heatwave-deaths-760-lives-claimed-by-hot-weather-as-high-temperatures-continue.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151806/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10187140/Heatwave-deaths-760-lives-claimed-by-hot-weather-as-high-temperatures-continue.html dead 18 July 2013 Heatwave deaths: 760 lives claimed by hot weather as high temperatures continue The Telegraph Telegraph Media Group London Rosa Silverman 18 July 2013 29 October 2013 Emergency services The heat wave led to rises in both the number of calls to the emergency services and admissions to A&E departments.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10165267/Heatwave-prompts-surge-in-ambulance-calls.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130710220910/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10165267/Heatwave-prompts-surge-in-ambulance-calls.html dead 10 July 2013 Heatwave prompts surge in ambulance calls The Telegraph Telegraph Media Group London Nick Collins 7 July 2013https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/heatwave-latest-spike-in-ae-admissions-wildfires-and-melting-roads-as-britain-battles-seventh-day-of-30plus-temperatures-8720611.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/heatwave-latest-spike-in-ae-admissions-wildfires-and-melting-roads-as-britain-battles-seventh-day-of-30plus-temperatures-8720611.html 2022-05-01 subscription live Heatwave latest: Spike in A&E admissions, wildfires and melting roads as Britain battles seventh day of 30-plus temperatures The Independent Independent Print Limited London Tom Bawden Charlie Cooper 19 July 2013 29 October 2013 The large numbers of people using rivers, lakes and the sea to cool off led to a large increase in the number of calls to lifeguards.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23808391 Lifeboat rescuers record busiest July since 2006 BBC News BBC 23 August 2013 29 October 2013 The London Fire Brigade reported having to deal with double the number of grass fires in the capital compared to the previous year.http://news.sky.com/story/1117837/heatwave-warning-danger-of-grass-fires Heatwave Warning: Danger Of Grass Fires Sky News BSkyB 19 July 2013 29 October 2013 Wildfires were also reported in Epping Forest in Essex, the Dorset coast, the valleys of southern Wales and Tentsmuir Forest in Scotland.https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/scotland-travel/heatwave-sparks-britains-worst-wildfires-for-years-rg8sw6qvss9 Heatwave sparks Britain's worst wildfires for years The Times London Lucy Bannerman 20 July 2013 29 October 2013 Ecology Following declines in the summer of 2012 due to wet and windy conditions, butterfly numbers saw a surge due to the prolonged warm weather.https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/24079279 Hot summer helps boost butterflies BBC Nature BBC 16 September 2013 29 October 2013 The warmer waters around the British coasts led to an increase in the number of jellyfish sightings, particularly the moon jellyfish.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10210511/Warm-weather-sparks-jellyfish-invasion.html Warm weather sparks jellyfish invasion The Telegraph Telegraph Media Group London Alice Philipson 30 July 2013 29 October 2013 The death of thousands of fish in rivers and lakes was attributed to the elevated temperatures lowering the amount of oxygen in the water to toxic levels.http://www.channel4.com/news/tens-of-thousands-of-fish-die-in-recent-heatwave Tens of thousands of fish die in recent heatwave Channel 4 News ITN Liam Dutton 8 August 2013 29 October 2013 References autocollapse Category:2010s heat waves Category:2013 natural disasters Category:2013 disasters in the United Kingdom Category:2013 in Ireland Category:Meteorological events in 2013 Category:Heat waves in the United Kingdom Category:Weather events in Ireland Category:July 2013 in Europe Category:2010s disasters in Ireland