A heatwave sweeping through Europe has caused flights on Monday in the United Kingdom to be stopped after runways at an air base, and a commercial airport in London melted, according to The Hill.
The Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base, located about 75 miles northwest of London, halted flights amidst a heatwave gripping Europe. At the same time, the London Luton Airport also announced it would temporarily suspend flights.
"During this period of extreme temperature, flight safety remains the RAF's top priority, so aircraft are using alternative airfields in line with a long-established plan. This means there is no impact on RAF operations," the Royal Air Force said in a statement. The news comes after Sky News reported last week that a runway at a separate RAF base in Lincolnshire had melted due to extreme temperatures.
And officials at the London Luton Airport announced that flights would be suspended after they noticed a "surface defect" on the airport's lone runway.
"Flights are temporarily suspended to allow for an essential runway repair after high surface temperatures caused a small section to lift," the London Luton airport officials stated.
Currently, in the U.K., temperatures are reaching record levels. In some parts of the country, temperatures are reaching 41 degrees Celsius, or 106 degrees Fahrenheit, which is on par with breaking a heatwave record set in 2019.
The heatwave comes at a time when the United Nations is convening for its Petersberg Climate Dialogue. On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres issued a dire warning, stating to global leaders that "half of humanity is in the danger zone from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No nation is immune. Yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction."
"What troubles me most is that, in facing this global crisis, we are failing to work together as a multilateral community. Nations continue to play the blame game instead of taking responsibility for our collective future. We cannot continue this way.
"We have a choice," Guterres added. "Collective action or collective suicide. It is in our hands."
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