An ice lolly fur this heat! Zoo animals cool off with a treat on Britain's hottest day of the year - after temperatures soared to scorching 32.2C
The tube at rush hour is not for the faint of heart - especially not during a heatwave.
But for sweaty commuters - and likely all other Brits who are struggling to keep cool as the mercury soars above 30C today in some areas - spare a thought for our furrier friends who might also not have access to aircon.
Zookeepers at Drusillas in Sussex have had to resort to unconventional ways to help stop their animals from overheating yesterday - the same afternoon an amber health alert was issued.
Frozen 'treats' on Popsicle sticks were created in efforts to keep animals cool on what was the hottest day of the year so far.
While animals cannot eat the same ice cream as humans can, they have special versions stacked with foods like peanuts, seeds, fresh herbs, and even herbal teas.
Enthusiasm varied across the park, with the meerkats spotted furiously licking to get to the tasty treats inside while the macaques took a much more laid back approach enjoying a slow nibble.
The armadillos attacked theirs with full force and the camels wasted no time taking huge chomps.
Zoo Section Leader, Jacinta Dawe, said: 'We use these ice lollies to keep the animals cool in the heat because animals do not sweat in the same way humans do.
'The animals just want to get their paws on the rewards hidden in the lollies, but as they grab, lick, nibble and break them down, their mouths and paws are cooled.
'The food inside is carefully measured and taken from their normal daily food allowance so although it's lots of fun to see them with ice lollies, they still sit within their monitored diets.'
She added: 'Ice lollies are a great way to keep the animals cool, but they also serve an enrichment purpose as well.
'Making the animals work for their food in creative ways, helps to stimulate them mentally and physically and forces them to use their instincts to look for food as they would in the wild.'
As well as the avant-garde gelato, the animals also had access to plenty of water and shade at the zoo - which saw a high of 26C.
Sprinklers have also been set up so that they can douse themselves during the day and keepers also hose down animals intermittently to bring down their body temperature.
Ms Dawe said: 'Some species at Drusillas really enjoy the heat and you'll spot them sunbathing, for instance our lemurs. They are sun worshippers that love to stretch out and catch some rays.
'But other animals, like our red pandas, don't enjoy the warm weather quite as much, so we lower the temperature in their habitats by spraying the area with a hose.
Having the food as an ice lolly also helps to stimulate the animals mentally and physically by forcing them to use their instincts to look for food as they would in the wild
'This additional water provides extra moisture in the air and the tree canopy, replicating the panda's natural environment and helping to keep them cool.'
'Other species, for example our giant anteater Raya, likes to actively bathe to cool off.
'So, we created her very own shower for her in warm weather, which she absolutely loves.
'Her all-time favourite way to "chill" is bathing in the anteater pool while being showered with water.
'We treated her to this today and she was thrilled, rolling around in the water to show her appreciation.
'Bathing is also great for her skin and coat, and a fun enrichment activity, so it's a fantastic experience for her all round.'
Temperatures in central London soared to 32.2C yesterday afternoon - making it the first day in 2025 to reach 30C and the hottest day of the year so far.
There are expected similar highs today and 34C predicted for tomorrow.
The Government's UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) activated a five-day alert from midday Thursday until Monday morning amid concerns that the heat could cause 'a rise in deaths, particularly among those ages 65 and over or with health conditions'.
The warning said 'significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures' along with 'increased demand for power exceeding capacity' and 'heat affecting the ability of the workforce to deliver services'.
The UKHSA has previously placed most of England apart from the North under a lesser yellow heat-health until Sunday evening, but this has now been upgraded.
It is the first amber heat-health alert to be issued for two years since September 2023.
The heatwave is likely to officially end after Saturday, but the weather from Sunday into the middle of next week will stay warm with a range of 24C (75F) to 26C (79F).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
I visited the World Cup final venue in New York... it is dull and dangerously hot
It is 10.45am at the MetLife Stadium, but it is already dangerously hot. It is 32C in the shade and some fans are feeling it as they walk. Two New Jersey state police officers are sitting in a gazebo outside the vast steel perimeter of what will be the venue for next year's World Cup final. Directly behind them is a large air conditioning unit – pumping chill air out into the open as the searing heat bounces off the tarmac and concrete that stretches out across the vast surrounding car parks and into the rest of the Meadowlands sports complex beyond. The officers are happy, but environmentally, it is a disaster. The 10.45am local time may well be at half-time during next year's World Cup final, which takes place in this stadium not in mid-June but on July 19, the absolute height of summer. And so this is what happened when attending a Club World Cup group game, between the Brazilian club Palmeiras and the Egyptian champions Al-Ahly. It is a story of a fixture that started at midday and was therefore due to finish before 2pm, and eventually ended at 2.52pm because the stands were evacuated due to a severe weather warning, including the small risk of a tornado. Even then, English referee Anthony Taylor should have announced far more than just six minutes of added time. But by then the players had stopped. It is also the story of another half-empty stadium – just 35,179 inside this huge open bowl that holds 82,500 – and of an Uber taxi driver trying to charge $150 (£111.40) in the middle of the afternoon for the tortuously slow eight-mile trip back into central New York. When challenged, he immediately dropped his price to $100 – still a rip-off. And it is the story of an apparently unloved stadium, built just 18 years ago and criticised for its lack of character and atmosphere, where it can take up to two hours to get out of the car park, but which will host the most watched sports event in the world with five billion viewers. First the heat. Fifa will not confirm the kick-off time for next year's final until after the World Cup draw in December. But there is speculation it could be as early as 10am (3pm UK time), although the semi-finals and final of this tournament, also held here, are scheduled for 3pm local time (8pm in the UK). That feels more likely. The humidity on my visit was 60 per cent and that is on the cusp of affecting sports performance, according to experts. At 1.25pm, the game was suspended. Just over an hour had been played when it was announced that everyone in the stands and the players on the pitch had to leave to take shelter inside the stadium because of a potential lightning storm. There was even a small chance of a tornado. A message emblazoned on the giant screens read: 'Your attention please. For your safety, we are going to have everyone leave the seating bowl area and take shelter inside the stadium because of severe weather in the area. Those on the field, please walk calmly to the nearest tunnel, to the West Hall, or the service corridor.' The delay, with Palmeiras 2-0 up, lasted 50 minutes. Many fans of Al-Ahly – there is a large Egyptian diaspora in the United States and New Jersey in particular – simply decided not to return. There was even a delay to the delay as Taylor could not get his communication equipment to work and then we waited for the broadcasters to be ready. Just 14 minutes later there was a drinks break, the second of the game, but interest among fans had dwindled by then and the game petered away. Is this the kind of football Fifa wants? The first drinks stop came after half an hour with players already being draped in wet towels and handed ice packs. When Taylor announced over the PA system that he was rescinding a red card he had wrongly awarded for a tackle, after a VAR check, the sweat was pouring down his shaved head. Weather cannot be controlled but how will such a delay and an apparent dwindling of interest look for next year's World Cup final? Instead of trying to explain what was going on, the officials spent their time trying to stop journalists live-streaming and checking their accreditations. After all, all Fifa content must be protected, even at the price of preventing information being spread. It was not just the players feeling the heat. There is very little shade inside this enormous roofless bowl for the supporters with those at the vertiginous top also having pretty poor views. Small bottles of water were selling for $5 and Bud Light beer at $14. Hot dogs? They were $8.50 and a pretzel $9 – plus tax. Not that the police liked anyone walking around with a water bottle. I was stopped and surrounded by no fewer than eight officers and had to have my bag checked, firstly by a sniffer dog. Fifa will set its own prices – do not expect them to go down – and deliver its own branding for the World Cup, which is partly why it has chosen for the tournament so many bigger American football stadiums, such as this one, the home of the New York Jets and Giants. Only 12 of the 63 games are being played in stadiums specifically designed for 'soccer', with eight of the 12 grounds having capacities of at least 65,000. Four of them will be used at the World Cup, with the MetLife hosting the most games. This competition is a dry run. A very dry run, given the temperature. The Club World Cup game was tough going. It was the third to be played in this stadium already during this tournament with the previous two ending goalless. When a score arrived it was an own goal headed headed in by Al-Ahly striker Wessam Abou Ali before Palmeiras substitute José Manuel López broke away to add a smartly taken second. At that point, an Egyptian journalist in the press box, wearing a red Al-Ahly shirt and who had been shouting throughout the game, unplugged his phone and walked away in disgust. Even the playing surface at the stadium has been criticised. The MetLife pitch with its synthetic grass is notoriously disliked by the NFL players – with 13 serious injuries suffered in the past five years, including famed quarterback Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles, so Fifa installed real turf. But players and coaches at this tournament have not been impressed and right up until kick-off, and then at half-time, four large firemen's hoses were dragged on to drench the pitch. It still quickly dried out. Getting to the MetLife is not easy. The stadium is in East Rutherford, right in the middle of Meadowlands, to the west of New York, near to the highways that lead into the city and the main routes around New Jersey. There is simply nothing else nearby and fans are told not to attempt to walk from local hotels. 'It is illegal and dangerous,' they have been warned in one poster. There are plenty of parking spaces for about $50, but how many fans attending the World Cup will have cars? And, it takes up to two hours to get out of the car parks – longer than the actual game unless there is another weather incident. The Meadowlands rail station, right on the doorstep, is open on match days, although fans were being directed instead to buses at the final whistle and it is a slow journey from Secaucus Junction, where they have to change trains to New York Penn Street. The Palmeiras supporters,who had taken over Brooklyn Bridge, were out in force, smuggling in flags and banners far bigger than those permitted by Fifa and trying to create any atmosphere. But this stadium lacks any character. It just feels a bit drab and grey and unsuitable and has been plonked in the middle of nowhere. It is dull, much like the football played here during this tournament so far. Even though ticket prices had been cut to just $38, huge sections of the stadium – three-quarters of the top tier and even more of the middle one – were closed and taken off sale. It will be different for the World Cup and the latter stages of this competition. Demand will be far higher. But that raises more serious questions, with complaints that the walkways out are too narrow for huge crowds to easily disperse. Maybe it will look differently next year when it is kitted out by Fifa, even if it will be hard to transform a stadium which has been compared to an air conditioning unit in the way it looks and the way it feels. Which, of course, is where we started.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Festival goers on the Isle of Wight explore ways to keep cool as heatwave expected to hit highs of 34C this weekend
Britons will sweat through 33C heat today with the UK expected to break its record for the warmest day of the year so far for the second consecutive day. The mercury hit a 2025 high of 32.2C (90.0F) at Kew in West London yesterday after the Government placed the whole of England under an amber heat-health alert. And thermometers could soar further today as the first official heatwave of the year continues with 33C (91F) forecast – while tomorrow could rise to 34C (93F). Music fans arriving at the Isle of Wight Festival enjoyed the sunshine as they explored ways to keep cool, from umbrellas to paddling pools and gazebos to parasols. Thousands of partygoers have descended on Seaclose Park in Newport for the four-day event being headlined by Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber heat-health alert yesterday for the first time since September 2023, which is in force until Monday morning. The five-day alert which began yesterday warns 'significant impacts are likely' across health and social care services because of high temperatures, including a 'rise in deaths', particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions. Temperatures will reach the low 30Cs today and could hit 33C (91F) – with a number of areas expected to have passed the heatwave criteria by this afternoon. An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three days in a row, with thresholds varying from 25C (77F) to 28C (82F) in different areas. Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: 'We're expecting the hot and dry conditions to continue. It does turn a little bit hazier in the west during the course of Friday. From temperatures to sunshine, UK weather records for June The hottest June temperature recorded in the UK is 35.6C, which was reached in Mayflower Park in Southampton on June 28, 1976. The same temperature was also measured in Camden Square in North London on June 29 1957, according to Met Office data. The closest this record has come to being broken in recent years was in 2017, when 34.5C was reached at Heathrow in London on June 21. Last year, temperatures climbed as high as 30.5C at Wisley in Surrey on June 26. The 30C mark has been reached in June somewhere in the UK in eight of the past 10 years, the exceptions being 2016 and 2021. The highest temperature so far this month is 32.2C, which was provisionally measured at Kew in West London yesterday, the Met Office said. Forecasts suggest 30C will be topped again today and across the weekend, as the current hot spell continues. The average warmest June on record was in 2023, when the mean temperature for the UK across the month was 15.8C. This was almost a full degree higher than the previous record of 14.9C, which was set in both 1940 and 1976. 2023 was also the UK's fifth sunniest June on record, with an average of 245.0 hours of sunshine measured during the month. The record for the sunniest June is 265.1 hours, set in 1957. 'We're still expecting temperatures to reach the low 30Cs, 31C, 32C fairly widely, maybe seeing 33C.' He added that increasing amounts of cloud will move in from the West tomorrow, with a chance of showers, some possibly thundery in North Wales and North West England, while eastern areas will see another dry and hot day. Temperatures will be in the low 30Cs, and probably be the peak of the hot spell on Saturday, as 34C (93F) is possible. However this is still below the June record of 35.6C in 1976 in Southampton. The last time Britain reached 34C (93F) in June was almost six years ago on June 29, 2019 in London. Before today, the warmest day of the year so far had been reached last Friday when temperatures got up to 29.4C (84.9F) at Santon Downham in Suffolk. Mr Stroud said Sunday will be another very warm day in the south and east probably in the late 20Cs. Elsewhere it will be cooler, with highs in the mid-20Cs. Temperatures are set to be in the mid-20Cs by the start of next week. Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at the UKHSA, said: 'Our findings show that heat can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions. 'It is therefore important to check on friends, family and neighbours who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun. 'The forecasted high temperatures may also lead to an increasing demand for remote healthcare services and an impact on the ability of services delivered due to heat effects on the workforce.' Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and pollen levels are also climbing alongside temperatures. Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Holley warned that parts of the UK are in for 'tropical nights' this weekend. He said: 'The nights will also be quite warm, with the possibility of temperatures not falling below 20C in some areas, making it hard to sleep. This is what we term a 'tropical night'.'. Emma McClarkin, chief executive officer of the British Beer and Pub Association, said sales in some pubs increase almost 20 per cent during hot weather. She said the current heatwave is a 'huge boon for Britain's brewers and pubs'. It comes after a warning was issued as firefighters have responded to more than 500 wildfires across England and Wales this year so far. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said that as of yesterday, 564 wildfire incidents have been responded to by English and Welsh fire and rescue services so far this year. This is a 717 per cent increase on the same period in 2024, and more than double the number seen in 2022 which went on to be the worst year on record for wildfires. The NFCC is now urging caution among members of the public when enjoying the outdoors in a bid to prevent further spikes in incidents. As the drier weather continues and temperatures rise, there are also concerns that the UK will see more wildfires in areas where homes and businesses border rural areas, the NFCC added. The public is also being urged to take care when in, on or around water. Public safety advice issued by the NFCC includes avoiding the use of disposable barbecues in open countryside, parks, and moorland areas and not discarding cigarettes, matches, or glass bottles, as they can ignite dry vegetation. With drier conditions during this time of year meaning that fires can burn into peat, and can burn for longer, it is likely some fires will take a number of days - rather than hours - to extinguish, causing more damage and placing further pressure on fire and rescue services, the NFCC added. Across July 18 and 19 in 2022, the hottest days of that year, 84 wildfires were recorded, and 14 fire and rescue services declared major incidents, nine of which were linked to difficulties in responding due to the increase in operational demand, the NFCC said. Meanwhile, a number of charities have issued warnings about the potential risks of hotter weather. St John Ambulance urged the public to familiarise themselves with the signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and to learn how to respond. It comes after a survey of 1,002 adults in England revealed more than half do not know the difference between 'life-threatening' heatstroke, which requires a 999 call, and heat exhaustion, which can be treated by cooling and hydrating a patient. The British Heart Foundation is encouraging people with heart conditions to take precautions such as staying cool and keeping hydrated to minimise potential health risks during a heatwave, saying the heat can put extra strain on the heart. Age UK urged people to check in on older relatives, friends, and neighbours to see if they need anything and to make sure they are not feeling overwhelmed by the excessive heat. Dementia UK issued advice and tips on how to support a loved one with dementia in the heat, including keeping hydrated; staying cool with appropriate clothing; keeping the person out of the heat; cooling the person down by avoiding hot drinks, alcohol and caffeine; and keeping the home environment cool. RAC breakdown spokeswoman person Alice Simpson warned drivers should 'take every precaution' in the heat. 'When temperatures soar, vehicle breakdowns usually do the same,' she said. 'One of the biggest risks is an increase in cars overheating, especially when sat in queues of traffic with no shade.' Ms Simpson urged drivers to check their coolant levels and any air conditioning systems that are not working properly, and to take plenty of water and snacks on the road. People are urged to look after their pets in the heat as well. British Veterinary Association president Dr Elizabeth Mullineaux said: 'Each summer, vets see pets suffering from heat-related problems and illnesses, such as heatstroke, breathing problems, burnt paw pads and sunburn, some of which can sadly be fatal.' She said owners should ensure their animals have access to fresh drinking water, good ventilation and shade, advising dog lovers to avoid taking their pets for walks during the heat of the day and to never leave them inside a car, caravan or conservatory. Tips from the RSPCA include using pet-safe sun cream; ensuring animals have constant access to shade and fresh drinking water at all times; and keeping fish tanks out of direct sunlight. Others are using cold treats from the fridge for added moisture or make an ice lolly for dogs from pet-friendly ingredients; freezing dogs' water bowls; and wrapping an ice pack or frozen water bottle in a tea towel, or use damp towels for pets to lie on.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
RNLI warns South East sunseekers over cold water shock
Lifeguards in the South East have warned those enjoying the hot weather this weekend to be wary of cold water shock as seaside temperatures are set to soar to around 30⁰C (86⁰F).Water safety teams from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) say that water temperatures will remain cold enough to be dangerous despite Sussex and Kent nearing the heatwave Addington, water safety lead for the RNLI in the South East, said those heading to the seaside should choose beaches with lifeguards on them and to stay afloat if they get into heat health warnings are in place across the UK until 09:00 BST on Monday as temperatures could hit 31⁰C over the weekend. Mr Addington said: "Heading to the coast in hot weather is a great way to have fun, relax and cool off – but the water can be dangerous."If you get into trouble in the water, tilt your head back with ears submerged and try to relax and control your breathing. Use your hands to help you stay afloat and then call for help or swim to safety if you can. It's OK if your legs sink, we all float differently." Cold water shock occurs when the body is suddenly immersed in water typically below 15⁰C (59⁰F) and can cause hyperventilation, gasping for air and a rise in heart impact of the shock can lead to difficulty in swimming, putting even experienced swimmers at risk of RNLI provides lifeguards across the South East, including most recently in Brighton and Stevens, lifeguarding lead for the South East, said: "Our lifeguards have undertaken extensive training to be able to provide an excellent lifesaving service."It's important to check the times and season dates of your nearest RNLI lifeguarded beach and to listen to any local advice they can give you – they are there to help keep us safe."
