LONDON – By Monday afternoon, temperatures had reached 34 degrees Celsius (94 degrees Fahrenheit) in north London, but residents are anxiously looking ahead to Tuesday, when it is forecast to be even hotter.
Mona Suleiman, 45, and her friend Zaina Al Amin, 40, were waiting for the bus as the afternoon warmed up.
Ms Suleiman, who is originally from Eritrea, said: “I’m not worried about myself in this heat. “But I worry about my children.”
She said her apartment was too hot and although she was advised to leave her children, ages 6 and 10, at home, not attending school at home, she decided to send them in because she thought it might be cooler there. than.
Schools, most of which are in their last week of school before summer break, are doing their best to keep children cool, especially in older buildings that are ill-equipped to withstand the high temperatures. . At an elementary school near Portobello Road, staff have set up a wading pool, and children can be heard splashing and laughing in the street.
“Especially at night, in the summer it gets too hot in my apartment,” Ms. Suleiman said, adding that she was worried it would become unbearable on Monday night.
Al Amin said the women, all Muslim, wearing traditional clothes and headscarves, weren’t afraid of the weather outside in their light cotton clothes, but were nervous when they got on the bus.
“At this point, it’s too difficult,” she said. “There’s not enough air.”
In Hyde Park, some sunbathers defied the midday heat and covered themselves with blankets on the distinctly parched lawn. Steps away, potential swimmers are being turned away from the Serpentine Lido, where a sign indicates the facility is fully operational. Among them were Lalou Laredo, 19, and Rachel Trippier, 22, who were disappointed to be turned away but commented that warm 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 Fahrenheit) water could actually make them feel worse.
“London is really not good on days like this,” Laredo said, lamenting the lack of places to cool off in the extreme heat.
Ms Trippier added that she worries about the new reality of increasingly extreme temperatures.
Mrs. Laredo agreed. “It was always on our minds,” she said. “It’s frustrating that people still deny it.”
Across central London, the neighborhood near St. Paul is bustling at lunchtime, despite the heat. A few joggers dodged both traffic and pedestrians in the blazing sun. Tourists stand in the shade of the cathedral, consulting the map on their phones. Office workers wear jackets outside in the hot sun, bringing takeaway food.
The pubs used the blazing sun to their advantage. “Ice, Ice, honey!” scrawled on a sign outside a pub, The Paternoster. “Peach iced tea or refreshing iced coffee!”
On a business day, pubs usually have at least 80 people at lunch. But on Monday, when more workers were encouraged to work from home, there were five.
“It’s usually busier than this,” said Sam Jordan, 22, a bartender. “I think a lot of office workers are working from home.”
In nearby Paternoster Square, about three dozen people sat on lawn chairs or picnic tables, some in the shade, eating lunch and watching a large screen erected weeks ago for the public to watch Wimbledon. On Monday, crowds watched a show about politics and the upcoming battle to choose a new prime minister.
Marilyn Tan, holding a protective umbrella, said she had just got off the plane from Singapore, where the weather is a bit cooler than London.
Ms. Tan, 57, said: “This doesn’t affect me at all. I don’t even tie my hair back.”
