Record UK Heat Wave Causes Runway Damage At London Luton Airport

Record heat is impacting air travel in the U.K., along with other travel infrastructure. On Monday, London Luton Airport, 30 miles north of the nation’s capital, was closed for several hours when 95-degree Fahrenheit (35 degrees Centigrade) temperatures caused a “surface defect” and a section of runway separated. The U.K.'s Meteorological (Met) Office identified conditions as "exceptional, perhaps record-breaking, temperatures."

According to the Met Office, though July is typically the warmest month for the Midlands region, temperatures average normally around 23.5 degrees C (74 degrees F). London's East Midlands Railway warned travelers to refrain from traveling on Tuesday (July 19) due to extreme temperatures, predicted on Monday to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees C), in the area.

London Heathrow Airport recorded the highest temperatures in history on July 19 at greater than 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40.5 degrees C. The previous record, set in 2019, was cooler by 1.5 degrees Celsius.