Source : Perth Now news
A so-called ‘cool map’ is helping Londoners to find shelter from the summer sun.
The UK has recently found itself in the midst of an early-summer heatwave, with temperatures peaking in the mid-30s – but the cool map is now offering a potential solution to the intense sun, helping people to find shelter and air-conditioned spaces amid the unusually warm weather.
DJ Olivier, who is a director of The Billy Youth Engagement project in Canada Water in London, which is throwing its doors open to people who want to cool down this summer, told the BBC: “We need more of them.
“It’s too hot in houses so the young people prefer to come here; they come here for activities, they play games and they come to the park.”
Cool spaces on the map include some of the best-known landmarks in London, including The O2, the Royal Opera House and the Imperial War Museum, as well as churches, libraries, and community centres.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has confirmed that it expects the recent heatwave in the UK to “gradually reduce in intensity in the coming days, with a transition to more unsettled and cooler weather by the weekend for many”.
Chris Bulmer, the Met Office’s chief forecaster, said in a statement: “We’re now starting to see this spell of very hot weather break down. Many areas will begin to feel fresher conditions moving in through Friday and into the weekend as a weak cold front moves southeast and becomes more established across most of the UK by Saturday.
“As the heat starts to ease, the weather will also turn more changeable, with some showers and thunderstorms possible. By the weekend, temperatures should be much closer to average for the time of year with accompanying rainfall for many through the weekend and into the start of next week.”
