Supermarkets across the UK, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, and Morrisons, are shutting down aisles of fridge units as a heatwave grips the country. Customers have noticed rows of refrigerated units closed off, with a corresponding reduction in chilled items available.
Why Fridges Are Being Shut Down
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Rupert Ashby from the British Frozen Food Federation explained why freezers are breaking down or being switched off in extreme heat, even though stores are largely air-conditioned. He said: “I think just the systems are finding it very hard to deal with the heat. The way the fridges work is they cool everything down and then expel the hot air. That works very well in our temperate climate, but with heat like this, trying to expel that air is very difficult.”
Ashby noted two types of refrigeration systems. Older stores typically have remote compressors and condensers located outside, which struggle to expel hot air when outdoor temperatures soar. He stated: “A lot of the pictures I’ve seen of banks of fridges and freezers that are closed off are generally in an older store with a system outside. Outside it’s so hot it’s finding it quite difficult to expel that hot air.”
More modern stores tend to use plug-in freezers that expel air into the store itself, which is often air-conditioned. These units are less likely to be shut down and can be wheeled out and replaced if they fail. Ashby stressed: “Often these things are not actually broken down. They’re just becoming very inefficient because they can’t get rid of the heat and they then work harder, creating more heat. It’s a bit of a catch-22.”
Record-Breaking Heatwave
The UK has been experiencing exceptionally hot and humid weather, with rare red weather warnings continuing into Friday. The Met Office reported that temperatures reached 36.7°C in Merryfield, Somerset, on Thursday afternoon, provisionally making it the UK’s hottest June day on record.
Schools and nurseries have been forced to close, and a hosepipe ban has been introduced in Kent due to surging demand. Transport services have been disrupted, with one rail operator urging people not to travel for beach trips because of the extreme heat.
Health and Safety Warnings
A chief at the country’s largest ambulance service has warned people to drink responsibly and avoid exercising outside. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) responded to its highest number of life-threatening emergencies ever on Wednesday. Chief operating officer Craig Harman said they expect “demand to grow day on day over the next couple of days.”
As football fans prepare to cheer for England during Saturday’s Fifa World Cup game, Harman advised people to drink “plenty of water” in between alcoholic beverages. He told the Press Association: “I’m saying to people I need you to drink water even when you’re not thirsty, staying out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, and particularly not exercising outside and putting your body under additional heat and strain.”
LAS saw a 50% increase in life-threatening emergency calls compared with a typical Wednesday in June, with the number of cardiac arrests up 30%.
Impact on Hospitals and Services
Several hospitals have declared critical incidents amid the heatwave. University Hospital Southampton was forced to cancel a number of planned operations and some outpatient appointments. Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust both declared critical incidents on Wednesday.
A 50-year-old man from Cilfrew, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, died after entering the water at Aberavon beach on Wednesday, police confirmed. On Thursday evening, firefighters in Derbyshire continued battling a 500 square metre wildfire on Tintwistle Moor, with video showing billowing smoke and flames consuming trees.
