Sadiq Khan issues severe air pollution warning as capital set to bask in 39C heat

Londoners have been told to reduce car journeys amid fears severe pollution could ‘raise Ozone levels’.

Sadiq Khan announced a high air pollution alert for Monday, as the capital is set for a week of sweltering 39C temperatures.

The Mayor of London urged Londoners to look after vulnerable residents, cut down car journeys and avoid engine idling to help mitigate the predicted poor air quality.

‘Hot, sunny weather and pollution from continental Europe are expected to raise ozone levels’, he wrote on Sunday afternoon.

‘Please help protect yourself and others, especially vulnerable people, by reducing car journeys and avoiding engine idling.’

The capital and much of southern and central England have been placed on an amber alert for extreme heat for four consecutive days between Monday and Thursday.

The Met Office warned of ‘adverse health effects’ which could affect the wider population including sunburn and heat exhaustion.

It also said that heat-sensitive equipment and systems were at risk of failing, leading to the possibility of power cuts and a loss of some services.

The mercury is forecast to rise to 38C by Tuesday in London and stay at that level until Thursday.

If borne out, it would mark Britain’s hottest June on record, beating the previous highest figure of  35.6Cwhich was reached both in 1976 in Southampton and in 1957 in Camden Square, London.

The summer of 1976 saw Britain experience one of its most intense heatwaves to date, with 15 consecutive days hitting 32C or higher and 36 days without rainfall recorded across England and Wales.

A water shortage led to Parliament passing the Drought Act, which brought in water rationing and the use of standpipes.

Some £500million of crops were destroyed that year.

This year has already seen the hottest spring on record, which temperatures tipping over 30C in May.

Last year’s summer was the hottest since records began, with a mean temperature of 16.1C recorded between the start of June and the end of August.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge warned that spells of extreme weather were becoming ‘more frequent’ due to climate change.

‘That’s unfortunately just the way things are going at the moment and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down’, he said.

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