Parents are being warned to take caution with children on playgrounds during the extreme heat as images taken with a thermal camera show just how hot equipment such as seeing, slides and roundabouts can get in the sun. BBC pictures show the temperature on a children’s slide reaching almost 72C or 161F in the sun, while the surface paving under nearby swings reaches 56.6C or almost 134F.
The images were captured by BBC Newsnight in Manchester on Monday where reporter Yasminara Khan used the camera, which is accurate to two degrees, to capture the build-up of heat during the day, including in a public playground.
Yasminara said: “We went to a local playground. It was deserted. It’s usually full of dog walkers and children playing. It looked as if some had taken the Government advice about staying in.
“The play equipment is hot to the touch. The thermal imaging camera gives the reading in a hot spot in the high 71 Celsius. It gives a good idea of how playgrounds can become a no-go area, and a sense of where the heat gets trapped, such as Tarmac.”
At a garage she also found the temperature in the workshop of up to 37C and in city centre gardens she found temperatures of more than 55C in the sun, reports HullLive.
Temperatures are expected to go above 40C in parts of the UK today, after new record high temperatures on Monday in the region.
Red and Amber extreme heat weather warnings from the Met Office remain in place. Some rain is expected to arrive on Wednesday afternoon to break the heatwave.
