Wales prepares for another heatwave as 'cool spaces' set up

BBC News

a day ago

Communities in Wales are setting up "cool spaces" to help people cope with the heat as they prepare for a second blast of hot weather this week.Temperatures are set to reach 29C in Cardiff going into the weekend, after highs of 32.8C in the city on Tuesday.It means some parts of Wales are set to experience their fourth heatwave of the year, although it will be cooler in north Wales and by the coast. On Thursday Natural Resources Wales declared drought conditions in south east Wales following the driest six-month period in decades.Welsh Water said there were no plans for restrictions to be placed on the use of water, however it urged people to take precautions in the heat.
At Caldicot's TogetherWorks community centre in Monmouthshire, manager Isla Arendell is trying to encourage people to use the centre as a "cool space" where they can meet others away from the confined warmth in their homes."I suppose it's come off from the warm space during the winter, we're looking at perhaps being sort of like a cool space where people can come in, chill, we've got a lovely community garden people can sit in," she said. More than 100 electric fans have been donated and given out at the centre, which Ms Arendell said had proved "very popular". John Hubbard, 72, who was attending the men's breakfast club on the site, said he has tried hard to keep his home cool. "It's sort of counter to what we normally do in this country, but closing the windows, even if it's really hot, is the thing to do," he said."Unfortunately, our best rooms are our lounge and our bedroom face south, so we get the full blast of the sun."Tony Knight, 81, added: "I like the hot weather as long as it's not too hot. I go out every day for a walk, but if it's too hot I walk around the supermarkets and it's nice."
Residents of care homes often have less choice about where they can go to keep cool.At Pen-Y-Bont Care home in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, staff member Luke Griffiths said the team tried to keep communal spaces cool with air conditioning, and focused on making sure residents stay hydrated. "We think ahead, we do monitor our residents' fluid intake, we set fluid targets for each resident, we encourage regular breaks for our staff members as well and we ensure the ventilation is correct in the building," he said. John Greenland, 65, is a resident at the home and said he struggled in the warm weather.He said: "I don't like it. If I'm hot I try and cool down a bit. I have a lot of drinks. I get very hot and I sweat like anything."Martha Lowman, 80, said she did not enjoy seeing predictions of high temperatures on the weather forecasts.She said: "I like to keep in the shade and drink plenty of fluids. It's exhausting really. It's quite unusual for us to have such hot weather."When I lived in Australia, it was normal out there but this is not normal for us."
While linking climate change with specific individual extreme weather events can be difficult, scientists say climate change is generally making heatwaves hotter, longer and more frequent.According to BBC weather forecaster and meteorologist Sabrina Lee, we may have to get used to this sort of weather more often.She said: "We expect our summers to be hotter and drier. When we get heatwaves, they're expected to become more frequent and intense and there's going to be more concerns in the future when it comes to wildfires and droughts."She added we may need to alter how we carry out tasks that we have previously taken for granted."I think the tone of my forecasts will become more serious. We expect to have to adapt in future years, so our daily routines may have to be changed."For example, when we take the dog for a walk, or if you're an outdoor worker, you have to tweak your schedule to avoid some of that heat."For those planning to be outside in the warm weekend weather, Celyn-Mai Clement, 23, from St John Ambulance Cymru, is advising people to keep hydrated and wear a hat and sunglasses to avoid eye damage. "We advise that you cover up using loose light clothing but the best advice is to use sunscreen," she said.
On Thursday, environment watchdog Natural Resources Wales said it had recorded the driest six-month period since the drought of 1976. As a result, the threshold has been met to put south east Wales in to drought status."The lack of significant rainfall has taken its toll on the environment, and we are receiving reports of low flows and dry riverbeds in some locations, low groundwater levels as well as reports of fish in distress and algal blooms," said Rhian Thomas, of NRW. "Catchments in south east Wales have been particularly impacted, with rivers receiving very little rainfall in recent months, and the Usk and Wye recording persistently high river temperatures which can threaten fish populations."However, a spokesperson for Welsh Water said there was currently no shortage of drinking water. "We have no concerns about reservoir levels across our operating area, with most at levels close to what we would expect at this time of year," they said. "We are managing the extra demand associated with the dry weather in terms of preserving storage within our network service reservoirs, but at this stage we have no plans to introduce any temporary use bans."