London's pavements have become so hot this week that experts warn against walking dogs on them, as temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius in the city.
The rule of thumb is simple: if it's too hot for the back of your hand, it's too hot for their paws. However, despite repeated warnings during the heatwave, animal charities say some owners are still taking dogs out during the hottest part of the day.
New research by a leading environmental group shows just how extreme conditions have become. While air temperatures hovered in the mid-30s, pavements, roads, and station platforms across London were found to be dramatically hotter.
Thermal images captured on Wednesday, when air temperatures reached 35°C, revealed staggering temperatures on various locations throughout the city. At one location in Holborn, the floor reached a scorching 65°C.
Other hotspots recorded by the group include:
Highbury and Islington Overground platform: 62°C
Grays Inn Road pavement: 59°C
Regent street: 57°C (the air temperature was 35°C)
King’s Cross station plaza: 54°C
Playground in Islington: 53°C
Victoria Line carriage: 40°C
The Oxford Circus pavement reached 56°C during the heatwave.
Greenpeace UK's head of climate, Mel Evans, said: "This record-smashing heatwave has turned London into a sticky, sizzling cauldron. This isn’t just weather – it’s a public health emergency driven by fossil fuel giants and their planet-heating emissions."
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that the city is "not equipped to deal with frequent and extreme heat waves" as he unveiled the capital's heat plan. Professor Stephen Belcher, chief scientist at the Met Office, described this week's heatwave as a "significant weather event" and emphasized that human-induced climate change has made events like this more likely and more intense.
