August 10, 2003: The day the UK topped 100 degrees for the very first time
In 2003, Europe experienced a bout of extreme heat, including record temperatures in Great Britain. Many people lost their lives due to the heat.
The summer of 2003 was memorable for many people across the world.
The SARS outbreak was coming to an end in June, and a month later, The Rolling Stones headlined the infamous SarsStock Concert in Toronto.
In popular culture, Johnny Depp was starring in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Beyonce was battling Kelly Clarkson & The Black Eyed Peas for the number one song in the country, and Friends was set to air its 10th and final season.
In August, the North American blackout made everyone on the East Coast stop in their tracks. The power outages affected 55 million people in Ontario and in eight US states.
While parts of Canada & the US were dealing with the power outage, an intense heat wave scorched the European continent, claiming tens of thousands of lives.
August 2003 was the hottest August ever recorded in the northern hemisphere and broke all previous records for heat-related deaths.
On today’s podcast, we take a look at the record-breaking temperatures that occurred in Great Britain on August 10th, 2003.
“This Day In Weather History” is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features unique and informative stories from host Chris Mei. Click here to listen and subscribe!
