The mercury hit 40.1°C in Coimbra yesterday. That is a Portuguese record for May. The old one stood since 2014. It was smashed by almost two degrees.
London is watching. Nervously. The heatwave pushing north from Africa is now forecast to park over the UK by Friday. The Met Office has already issued a Level 2 heat-health alert. That means the NHS is on a war footing.
Whitehall sources tell me the Department of Health convened an emergency Cobra-style meeting this morning. The focus: excess deaths. In the 2022 heatwave, over 3,000 people died. Most were elderly, isolated, packed into flats with no air conditioning.
'We are better prepared now,' a DHSC official said. Off the record, of course. They always say that. But the numbers tell a different story. Care home inspections have been cut. The ambulance service is still understaffed. GPs are drowning.
The real fear is political. This is an election year. Sunak cannot afford a 'failed state' narrative. If the death toll spikes, Labour will run a loop of ambulances queueing outside hospitals. Starmer is already sharpening his lines.
Downing Street's plan? A three-pronged attack: public health messaging, extra funding for NHS trusts, and a police unit to crack down on 'misinformation' about heat safety. Yes, really. Number 10 is terrified of anti-vax-style resistance.
But the underlying problem remains. The UK's infrastructure is built for drizzle, not 35°C. The train tracks buckle. The pavements melt. The electricity grid creaks. And the political system? It rewards short-term thinking. A heatwave response is costed in emergency spending, not long-term resilience.
From the backbenches, I hear rumblings. Tory MPs in marginal seats are worried. 'My constituents live in caravans and council flats,' one told me. 'They don't have air-con. They don't have gardens. What do I tell them?'
Excellent question. The answer, for now, is the same as always: stay indoors, drink water, check on neighbours. But in a country where 4 million people live in fuel poverty? That is easier said than done.
Eleanor Rigby. Political Bureau Chief. London.
