Britain shattered its record for highest temperature ever registered Tuesday amid a heat wave that has seared swaths of Europe -- and the national weather forecaster predicted it would get hotter still in a country ill prepared for such extremes.
As the nation watched the mercury rise with a combination of horror and fascination, the forecaster warned temperatures could go higher still.
Electric fans cooled the traditional mounted troops of the Household Cavalry as they stood guard in central London in heavy ceremonial uniforms. Other guards reduced their duties. The capital's Hyde Park, normally busy with walkers, was eerily quiet -- except for the long lines to take a dip in the Serpentine lake.
A huge chunk of England, from London in the south to Manchester and Leeds in the north, remained under the country's first "red" warning for extreme heat Tuesday, meaning there is danger of death even for healthy people. Climate experts warn that global warming has increased the frequency of extreme weather events, with studies showing that the likelihood of temperatures in the U.K. reaching 40 C is now 10 times higher than in the pre-industrial era.
Combatting climate change head on is the only solution for Britain, said Professor Myles Allen, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford, because continually refurbishing the country's infrastructure to cope will be "extremely expensive."
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