The heatwave that has been affecting England since Sunday has caused disruptions to rail transport, while heavy rain last night led to signal failures on some London Underground lines.
Circle Line services have been completely suspended in the city, while widespread disruptions are occurring on many lines, including the District, Elizabeth, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Mildmay lines connecting to central London. This morning, long queues formed at major interchange stations like Baker Street due to cancelled and severely disrupted services.
The extreme heat conditions severely strained passengers waiting at underground stations. As infrastructure struggles to function properly in extreme heat, Transport for London (TfL), which manages the city's public transport system, advised passengers not to use the lines unless necessary during the heatwave.
TfL also advised passengers to check the latest status of lines before setting off. Temperatures in England are expected to remain high throughout the week, possibly reaching 38-40 degrees in some areas. The Met Office therefore issued a red alert yesterday.
National Crisis Centre to convene in Belgium. The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (IRM) has declared an 'orange alert' across the country from Thursday, with the alert already in effect in Luxembourg province as of today. The North Sea coastline, previously outside the alert zone, has also been included in the orange alert area.
Temperatures are forecast to reach up to 37 degrees in some areas on Wednesday and Thursday, while the heatwave is expected to continue on Friday and Saturday.
A call was made to be particularly careful with the elderly, children and those with chronic illnesses, while citizens were advised during the orange alert to drink plenty of fluids, wear light clothing, spend the hottest hours of the day in cool environments, and keep doors and windows closed to prevent hot air from entering homes.
The government announced that the National Crisis Centre would convene to take precautions against the risks. A 'severe weather warning' message was sent to phones, while some schools were closed for the week due to the extreme heat. Some peak-hour train services were also cancelled to prevent damage to railway infrastructure from the extreme heat.
Two children left in car die in France. According to reports in the French press, the incident occurred in Carpentras, in the Vaucluse department in the southeast of the country. The Carpentras prosecutor's office announced that two children, aged 2 and 4, were found dead after being left in a parked car.
The prosecutor's office, which has launched an investigation into involuntary manslaughter, shared that the children were found in a car parked in front of their own home and that the vehicle was in the sun. The prosecutor's office stated that they are focusing on the possibility that the children died due to the high temperature.
In France, where extreme heat has been affecting the country for about 10 days, a red alert has been issued in 49 departments, while 13 people have died by drowning and 7 others have died from heat-related illnesses.
