LONDON – On Monday afternoon, temperatures had reached 34 degrees Celsius (94 Fahrenheit) in north London, but residents were watching anxiously on Tuesday, when it was forecast to be even hotter.
Mona Suleiman, 45, and her friend Zaina Al Amin, 40, were waiting for a bus as the afternoon got warmer.
“I’m not worried about myself with this heat,” Ms. Suleiman, who is originally from Eritrea. “But I’m worried about my kids.”
Her apartment is too hot, she said, and although she was advised her children, ages 6 and 10, to stay home from school, she decided to send them away because she thought it might be cooler. .
Schools, most of which are in the last week of class before the summer holidays, went out of their way to keep children cool, especially in older buildings poorly equipped for high temperatures. At a primary school on Portobello Road, staff had installed a children’s pool and children could be heard splashing and laughing down the street.
“Especially at night, in the summer in my apartment it’s already too hot,” Ms. Suleiman, and added that he was worried that Monday night would become unbearable.
Ms Al Amin said women, who are Muslim and wore traditional dresses and handkerchiefs, did not mind spending time outside in their light cotton clothes, but were worried about getting on the bus.
“Right now, it’s too hard,” he said. “Not enough air.”
In Hyde Park, a handful of bathers faced the afternoon heat and put blankets on the visibly dry grass. A few steps away, potential swimmers were being scrapped from the Serpentine Lido, where a sign indicated the facilities were in the capacity. Among them were Lalou Laredo, 19, and Rachel Trippier, 22, who were disappointed to be rejected, but noted that the warm water, which was 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 Fahrenheit), could make them feel worse.
“London really isn’t good for days like this,” Laredo said, lamenting the lack of places to cool off in the extreme heat.
Ms Trippier added that she was concerned about the new reality of increasingly extreme temperatures.
Mrs. Laredo agreed. “It’s always in the back of our minds,” he said. “It’s frustrating that people still deny it.”
In central London, the neighborhood near St Paul’s Cathedral was packed with lunchtime activities, despite the heat. A few runners dodged both traffic and pedestrians under the scorching sun. Tourists sat in the shadow of the cathedral, looking at maps on the phone. Office workers wore jackets outside despite the heat, and brought takeaway food.
Umbrellas were a way to protect yourself from the scorching London sun. Many employers encouraged their workers to work from home because of the heat. Credit … Yui Mok / PA Images, via Getty Images
The pubs took advantage of the scorching sun. “Gel, gel, girl!” was scribbled on a sign outside a pub, The Paternoster. “Refreshing peach ice cream tea or iced coffee!”
On a weekday, the pub would normally have at least 80 people for lunch. But on Monday, when many workers had been encouraged to work from home, there were five.
“He’s usually busier than that,” said Sam Jordan, 22, a waiter. “I think a lot of office workers work from home.”
In nearby Paternoster Square, about three dozen people sat on lawn chairs or picnic tables, some in the shade, having lunch and watching a large screen that had been raised weeks ago for the public to see Wimbledon. On Monday, the crowd watched a program on politics and the upcoming battle to select a new prime minister.
Marilyn Tan, wearing a protective umbrella, said she had just got off a plane from Singapore, where the weather was a little cooler than London.
“This has had no effect on me,” Ms. Tan, 57, said. “I’m fine. I didn’t even tie my hair back.”