THE AUGUST HEAT-WAVE OF 2003
Last updated July 2008
August 2003 saw the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK.
I was watching BBC NEWS 24 on Sunday the 10th of August, and saw live as the news came through of the record breaking temperatures from Heathrow, and a good interview with the bookmakers who lost hundreds of thousands of pounds due to people betting that this would happen. Managed to tape it too, which is lucky. The temperatures broke through the 'magical' 100°F barrier, which is also a psychological barrier. People were talking about this finally being proof of 'global warming', although there were objections from Piers Corbyn, and I'm inclined to agree with him. There was a lot of predictable content in the newspapers. Comparisons with Jamaica and Bermuda, and pictures of scantily clad office workers cooling down in fountains, or on beaches reassuringly close to London...
Some interesting effects of the heat:
A change in lifestyles which had apparently been prepared for by supermarkets
The need for 'slag dusting' - I arrived back in King's Lynn from my holidays and was surprised to be following a gritter lorry which was spraying something on the surface. The idea is to stop the roads becoming too slippy and greasy. After a hot dry period, any rain can lead to hundreds of minor collisions.
Animals in zoos had to be given sun tan cream, and their food frozen into ice lollies
The economy lost tens of millions of pounds due to people 'throwing a sickie' to take advantage of the sun: 'suntanitis' was one phrase used in the newspapers
Other effects of the heat:
Young people jumped straight into deep water, even it was a lock gate or sluice where there is deep water and undertow, tragically, some drowned.
The rapid increase in sales of certain commodities: fans were not available in many shops, one newspaper article talked of England 'drinking itself dry' of lager - but real ale sales were down - I did my bit to keep them up!
Fears for air quality due to the large numbers of barbecues working their way through thousands of tons of charcoal and high pressure meaning that the pollution couldn't escape
Chesterfield City had a new away strip for the new Nationwide League season which started on the 9th of August - they apparently abandoned it and wore white instead, and many games had drinks breaks as the temperatures on the pitch neared the 100 degree mark
Growth of poisonous blue-green algae on rivers and canals
Threats of water shortages and hosepipe bans
Threats of electricity shortages or 'brownouts' due to the increased demand for air conditioning and fans in offices and homes
And me ? Well, on the day that some of the warmest temperatures were recorded, I was in the place with the LOWEST temperature in the country: Berwick on Tweed in Northumberland... and all week along the coast there was a sea fret keeping temperatures refreshingly COOL: marvellous!
The BBC asked people from various countries to supply phrases which were the equivalent of 'hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement', and there were some interesting phrases. A TALKING POINT section asked how people were coping with the heat.
There are increased problems of fallouts amongst NEIGHBOURS in the hot weather as people tend to be noisier, have barbecues when others have their washing out to dry, and people notice this more as their windows tend to be open. Lots of interesting posts here on the problems people have with their neighbours.
Certain products were in poor demand due to the heat. There have been price rises in certain products due to the heat. Heinz is putting up its prices by 6% due to an increase in the cost of tomatoes. A loaf could go up by 10p due to reductions in wheat harvests. We could also see rises in the price of frozen vegetables. There has been a 20% reduction in yields of certain vegetables due to the heat and the dry weather, and Tuscan olive oil harvest is apparently down 60%
An article in the Times pointed out a surge in the number of boys being born 9 months after the 1976 heatwave. Could the heat change the chance of giving birth to a boy ?
The French government announced at the end of August that over 11,000 extra deaths were recorded during the first 2 weeks in August , when temperatures reached over 40°C in Paris.
Retail sales were down overall, although shops reported a lot of online shopping being done in the early hours - perhaps people couldn't sleep, so they logged on and went shopping instead..
In Italy, there were fears that forest fires were being started deliberately: possibly even by the people paid to put them out (allegedly) - go to the BBC site for more on this story.
By September it became clear that throughout Europe, the death rates were noticeably higher than usual.
France: 14 800
Italy: 4 200
Netherlands: 1 400
Portugal: 1 300
UK: 900
Spain: 100
The River Danube was hit by the drought in central Europe. In Croatia, relics of World War II were uncovered as water levels fell to a new low with the worst drought in 50 years. Ships ran aground, blocking river traffic.
Autumn has now appeared and people are saying how cold it suddenly is - well I suppose it is Autumn in September, and from the 22nd it's official... A cold front from Iceland changed the weather dramatically. Fires have broken out on moors across the North of England, and trees have been shedding their leaves more than a month earlier than usual in an attempt to conserve moisture (which of course is why the deciduous trees lose their leaves every year....) It's likely that when the leaves grow back next spring they will be a little smaller than usual.
Now received my Phenology network recording form, and have been considering which events I could actually record.
A report by the AEA, reported in the January 2004 issue of ATMOSPHERIC ISSUES (get on the mailing list) suggests that around a third of the thousands of deaths that occurred in the 2003 UK summer heatwave were attributable to air pollution.
SUMMER ANTICYCLONES
Problems of summer anticyclones
Benefits of summer anticyclones
Heatwave and sunshine tends to improve people's well-being
Quicker ripening crops - also fruit and addition of other crops
Tourist numbers
Economic advantages in certain sectors: supermarkets... / ice cream men
Outside events...