Britons suffer as temperatures soar 11:50 21/07/06
Suffering in the heat? If climate change has its way the record summer temperatures seen this week may become commonplace within the next twenty years, say the Met Office.
Keepers at one English zoo gave lions ice blocks flavoured with duck blood to cool the animals down and local authorities have been gritting roads in an effort to stop tarmac melting.
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"It’s unbearable. "
- Tony Foster
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Fareham shop manager Tony Foster, 40, said his staff had been suffering this week since the store’s air conditioning unit had broken down. “It’s unbearable,” he said.
“The air conditioning company told us because of the heat they’re much busier than usual, so it’s a few weeks’ wait rather than days to get our system fixed.
“As soon as you move at any pace you start to sweat. It’s not pleasant working when you’re hot and sticky.
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"You have a bit of hot freak weather and everybody goes mad."
- Michelle Roberts
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“I don’t even want to go outside for lunch at the moment. It’s too hot, which is really unusual for this country.”
Sun-worshipper Michelle Roberts, 38, has spent the last few days on Bournemouth’s beaches. She says she doesn’t know what all the fuss is about: “You have a bit of hot freak weather and everybody goes mad. You forget that we had about seven months of cold, damp weather.
“I know they’re talking about climate change but it’s all a bit overboard considering we’ve only had a few hot days this year.
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"Humanity is dancing on a volcano."
- Jacques Chirac
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Climate change continues to dominate the political landscape. On Sunday French President Jacques Chirac told G8 partners at a Saint Petersburg summit, “We cannot discuss energy security while standing still on climate change.
“Humanity is dancing on a volcano.”
Additional source: AFP
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