Three major fires from my vantage point here.

https://twitter.com/markhac56209533/status/1549397289432752129?s=21&t=daE5PBNPQVtH-QW1slzX6A

The highest temperature at an official station which I can find for here in Scotland is 31°C at Eskdalemuir, but that is below the old Scottish record.

There are a number of official stations not all that far away from here which are recording temperatures which are close to or even above what I have reported for here in Hawick but rather frustratingly, they are all just on the other side of the English borders and so, it is looking as that lack of official stations down here is scuppering our chances of the Scottish record, and that is very frustrating indeed, given how hot it is here in Hawick.

"About 2,500 properties in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire do not have electricity, with some believed to have been off since Monday afternoon. Northern Powergrid said it was working hard to restore supply to affected homes and businesses. Temperatures approaching 40C (107.6F) have led to conductors sagging and transformers overheating, it said."

UK heatwave: Thousands suffer power cuts after equipment overheats

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-62222195

Also see:

Heatwave: Tram and rail networks shut due to heat

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-62218587

Roger

BREAKING: The London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident in response to the surge in fires across the capital as temperatures exceed 40C. https://t.co/NvxWFA7hul

📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/wzGKMjAlcx

— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 19, 2022

This is the sort of thing I warned about the other day.

London Euston trains suspended over cable fire

All trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes have been suspended as emergency services deal with a fire near the track.

The blaze was caused when overhead electric cables came down in Harrow in north London, which Network Rail said was caused by the extreme temperatures. [source: BBC]

The ECML was closed today between London and York specifically to avoid this sort of thing causing chaos.

And Boris has not attended a single COBRA and instead went on a jolly with the RAF and held a party at Chequers. 

A fair few fire's around the Rotherham and Doncaster area with 1 big fire which seemed to block the sun out a bit around Doncaster.

He had to time to fling Tobias Ellwood out the party for not turning up for the confidence vote in his inept prime ministership. Ellwood is the MP who tried to save the life of a PC outside Westminster after a terrorist attack. Buller Buller!

Sky rolling coverage of London burning

BBC hardly mentioning it, perhaps protecting the Govt

I flicked over the BBC and they were still

going on about the leadership campaign. This is terrible event that has been unfolding. 

And they found the only teacher in the country who was delighted with the Govt's pay rise

Our public service workers are working flat out to keep us safe. You held another party for yourself. Disgrace. https://t.co/uotF3et432

— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) July 19, 2022

I think Denmark could beat its decades old all time record tomorrow. 35.1C I think, and the models show 36C near the German border.