The UK is suffering through one of its most extreme heat waves ever. How bad? Try melting pavement bad. On Monday morning, the UK’s Sky News reported that the British Royal Air Force turned to alternative airfields at its Oxfordshire base after military intel told the outlet that “the runway has melted” at the Brize Norton airbase due to high temperatures.
Temperatures were above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius, on Monday, easily making it the hottest day of the year in many parts of the country, including in Suffolk and parts of Wales.
The heat isn’t expected to let up until later this week. With highs above 102 Fahrenheit expected for tomorrow, the impact of the record-breaking temperatures on national infrastructure may just be starting. On Monday, the melted runway forced the Royal Air Force to halt flights both in and out of the airbase, but it was able to prevent shutting down operations entirely by diverting flights to a nearby air base in Oxfordshire.
Brize Norton wasn’t the only airport affected by Monday’s extreme heat. London’s Luton Airport, the UK’s hub for budget carriers easyJet, Ryanair, and Wizzair, announced a series of delays Monday afternoon because of another runway damaged by extreme heat.
“Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway,” London Luton Airport said in a statement posted to Twitter. “Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as quickly as possible. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused.”
