Royal Welsh Show discovers tactics to protect animals from heat wave
Wales provisionally recorded its day with the mercury reaching 35. 3°C at Gogerddan, Ceredigion.
The Met Office announced the news on Twitter that it broke the previous record of 35. 2°C at Flintshire’s Hawarden Bridge in 1990.
Meanwhile, pigs were covered in sunscreen as crowds flocked to the UK’s largest agricultural farm in Powys.
Extreme heat warnings are in place for the next two days and temperatures are expected to reach 38C (100F) on Monday.
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A national emergency has been declared in the UK due to the warm weather.
Travellers have been warned to only do so if it is a must and some schools have told students to wear fresher clothing.
Some trains have been cancelled as temperatures rise, and Network Rail says that in severe cases, train tracks can deform with excessive heat.
For the first time, the UK Met Office issued a red warning for extreme heat, which covered large portions of England, adding London, Manchester, Birmingham and York on Monday and Tuesday, with forecasts that temperatures could exceed 41°C (106°F).
The Met Office’s orange excessive heat alerts, which cover all of Wales, will also continue until Tuesday evening.
The new provisional record in Wales is still a few degrees below the British record of 38. 7°C set at Cambridge in 2019.
But forecasters say the heatwave may push the mercury to record degrees on Monday or Tuesday in Wales and across the UK.
Wales, the warmest component of the UK on Sunday, when temperatures reached 90°F (32°C) in Hawarden.
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On Saturday it gave the impression that some scheduled Covid vaccination appointments were being rearranged due to the heat.
But with the heatwave expected to become even hotter, the Welsh government has warned others about the threat of excessive heat.
Health officials said the Met Office’s orange excessive heat warning “should be taken seriously” as it can mean a possible serious or life-threatening illness due to high temperatures.
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An aerial view at low tide on the Carew River running Carew Castle
Wales’ deputy chief medical officer, Chris Jones, told BBC Radio Wales that other people want to “change some of their plans” in the coming days.
Health officials told schools that young people avoid vigorous physical activity in excessively hot conditions and “maximize shade and ventilation,” while students wear loose, light-colored clothing if possible, wear outdoor hats and drink plenty of water.
People who might be tempted to cool off in rivers and lakes are warned to pay attention to the risks of open water, while burn specialists have pushed the importance of buying sunscreen this year.
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Experts recommend young people to have a much higher SPF sunscreen like 50
The Welsh Burn and Plastic Surgery Centre in Swansea is already seeing an increase in the number of young people treated or referred to the specialist unit at Morriston Hospital with severe sunburn.
“Burning your skin increases the risk of skin cancer in the future,” said pediatric nurse Louise Scannell.
“And once you succeed at the age of 18, if you’ve had a significant sunburn, the damage is already done and can increase your threat of skin cancer later in life. Therefore, it is very important to apply sunscreen. “
He also warned that sunscreen is less effective if it was opened last year and beyond its expiration date.
“People are taking out sunscreens from last year that, once opened, should be discarded and used the following year,” Scannell added.
More than 50,000 people are expected at the four-day Royal Welsh Show, one of Europe’s largest agricultural events, and organisers have been invited through public fitness bodies to prepare for the extreme heat.
The Royal Welsh Show is an appointment in the cultural calendar of Wales
Royal Welsh’ lead veterinary officer, Dafydd Jones, admitted that the forecasts for the exhibition near Builth Wells in Powys were “worrying”.
“Animals suffer like other people, if not worse, with the excessive heat and with so many animals out there, it is very worrying that animals suffer to cope with the heat,” he told BBC Radio Cymru.
Organisers have spent more than £50,000 on more enthusiasts and ventilation in the stables to keep the 8,000 or so animals as new as possible as long as additional water is available.
The program’s lead veterinarian, Dafydd Jones, said the weather was worrisome, but that steps were being taken to mitigate its effects.
Chief Operating Officer Mared Jones said organisers had “stepped up from time to time” to cope with the expected heat, adding: “Please put yourself in a position and wear appropriate clothing, that would be my message to visitors. “
“We have more water stations and more ventilation in the animal stables.
“We also have a team of veterinarians here to make animal welfare at the forefront. “
Swimmers cooled off at Llyn Padarn in Llanberis, Gwynedd, as temperatures rose.
Some pig owners will lather their animals with sunscreen to protect them from sunburn, while award-winning pig farmer Ela Mair will cover her six participants, plus five purebred Welsh pigs, with cold, wet towels to keep them cool.
Some pigs from the four-day Royal Welsh Show starting monday will be on sunscreen
“Pigs don’t let out the heat as well as other animals, so it’s hard to keep them cool,” said the 45-year-old who owns a farm near Pwllheli in Gwynedd.
“We put rainy towels on it without blood, but we must be careful that the heat does not dry out the towels too temporarily so that it can heat them up.
“So we’re going to keep them in the shade as much as possible and keep the enthusiasts in them as much as possible. “
Geraint and Sue Richards expect their ice cream to be in high demand
Sue and Geraint Richards, who manage Basil and Rusty Glacier in Machen, Caerphilly, hope the others will cool the show.
“After 3 years of absence (due to Covid), it feels like coming home, it’s incredibly important, the screen is a big family,” Mr Richards said on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
Why is it so hot (in less than 60 seconds)?
General Manager Steve Hughson asked others to “be careful, wear sunscreen and hats and wear shade” when visiting the 150-acre Llanelwedd site.
Pet charity RSPCA has warned puppy home owners to take extra precautions to keep their puppies in warm climates, by having access to new water, ventilation and shade from direct sunlight.
British Veterinary Association president Justine Shotton said owners want to prevent their pets from overheating, adding “making sure animals are not walked or exercised in the middle of a hot day or left inside a car or on a warm terrace even for a short time, since a short time can be fatal. “
The Met Office said warm weather caused great tension in the UK and warm air from southern Europe and that a heat wave that swept across Europe sparked wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain.
Travellers have been asked to only use public transport if excessive heat warnings are mandatory.
The speed limit on lines across Wales and England has been reduced, with trains basically restricted to 90 mph (145 km/h), where they would be up to 125 mph (200 km/h), meaning journeys will take longer.
Transport for Wales (TfW) has even cancelled trains on routes in spaces covered by the Met Office’s red weather warning.
BBC colleagues from warm countries give their recommendation on how to cool off
Services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, Chester and Liverpool, Chester and Manchester, Chester and Crewe, Crewe and Manchester and Conwy Valley Line will be cancelled.
TfW warned that beach resorts in Wales, along the Heart of Wales line to the Royal Welsh Show and in South Wales due to university degrees in Cardiff and Swansea “will be very busy”.
The rail operator said “onboard conditions are most likely to be very uncomfortable in excessive weather conditions,” but “it is racing to supply more capacity to overcrowding. “
Network Rail said the need for greater speed and time restrictions was due to the fact that metal rails absorb heat smoothly and “tend to be around 20 degrees above air temperature. “
“When the metal gets very hot, it expands and the rails can bend, flex and, in severe cases, deform,” he said.
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