'I visited UK's heatwave epicentre where residents already navigating climate change horror firsthand'

'I visited UK's heatwave epicentre where residents already navigating climate change horror firsthand' The Mirror's Julia Banim visited Andover, the heatwave epicentre of the UK, where locals are left sweltering in temperatures that experts have warned could become the new norm in summers to come The wall of hot air hits me as soon as I step onto the platform - dense, heavy, and fiery on the nostrils. I'm not in Turkey or Greece. I am in Andover, where residents have been left sweltering under conditions that make the heatwave in other parts of the country seem positively mild. While coastal Gosport technically clocked the highest decimal point on the Met Office thermometers on Wednesday (June 24), it was landlocked Andover that felt like the true epicentre of the furnace. As I walk up to the high street, skin slippery with perspiration, I am grateful for the occasional weak breeze, which makes breathing a little more bearable. Sitting right in the heart of picturesque Hampshire - officially designated the UK's hottest county on Wednesday - this bustling town has no coastal breeze or cooling lidos to save it. Instead, Andover became the ultimate testing ground for how ordinary Brits are surviving a stagnant, suffocating 36°C. Just behind the Chantry Centre, a mercifully well air-conditioned shopping precinct, sits the tranquil Town Mills Riverside Park. The urban green place is sizzling. By the riverbank, a butterfly desperately swoops up and down over the water's surface, as if slurping as much water as it can with its tiny mouth. Over in a shaded patch of the seating area, the Mirror encounters Natalie Colebrook, 45, a lifelong Andover resident. She says this is the only sliver of shade she has managed to find on her lunch break. Natalie manages a charity shop on nearby Bridge Street, located in a 200-year-old building with no air conditioning. "The building is not built for this kind of weather", Natalie says. On day four of the heatwave, staff are getting through with fans and plenty of water, but there's just no keeping the heat out. Like many local parents, Natalie is balancing unbearable working conditions with anxiety about her children's welfare. Her eldest child had to take the day off from secondary school due to the temperatures. Natalie told The Mirror: "The schools aren't built for this heat, and the heat rises day after day. He's losing out on schooling by being at home, which isn't ideal really." Just across the park sits Matthew Ward,3 6, who has lived in Andover since childhood. He has noticed a stark shift over the last four or five summers, describing them as notably drier. He recalls how, during last summer, the town's green spaces "were turning brown, especially up at the cricket pitches", noting that hosepipe bans have become a familiar occurrence Fair-skinned Matthew has been left with painful sunburn across his arms, and legs, and can't risk staying out in the sun too long. "I can't walk too fast anywhere," he admits. "I always have to take breaks, and if I walk too far without a drink, I just feel dehydrated." On the historic high street, it is market day. Strawberries glisten temptingly from a fruit and veg stall, but browsing shoppers are today moving at a gentler, more careful pace. The market traders, visibly exhausted but still friendly, have been out toiling in the sun for hours. By midday, a number of shops have already been forced to shut their doors. The overall scene looks more like a Spanish coastal resort than leafy Jane Austen country. Some shoppers are walking around in bikini tops and swimwear; others brandish portable electric fans - a flimsy weapon against a mighty meteorological beast that has wrapped itself around every corner. It's here where the Mirror runs into lifelong friends Sue Griffith and Lucille Chance, both 69, enjoying a coffee in the sunshine. Having lived through the legendary heatwave of 1976, when Sue was working painting lines at an RAF camp, they aren't overly concerned by this latest scorcher. "I won't complain about the sun because you don't get enough of it," Sue smiles. "It's just about being sensible." But while the pair are making the most of things, there have been challenges. For Sue, keeping her 16-month-old puppy and a two-and-a-half-year-old cocker spaniel "quiet and settled" in a hot house has proven a challenge. Meanwhile, Lucille shared how the weather impacts her family: "I've got a grandson, he's autistic, it does affect him. We'll be picking him up later, and I've got the pool filled up and everything to keep him cool." Sue has been left concerned about reports that council planning officers in other parts of the country have ordered residents to remove air-conditioning units over carbon dioxide fears. She noted: "If that's going to go nationwide, I think that's a very bad decision." Lucille, who has very generously gifted her unit to her son, added: "We've all got air conditioning, and we've got to do something to keep cool." Skyrocketing temperatures have this week seen shoppers rush out to buy air conditioning and cooling units. Queues were seen snaking outside supermarkets, which have struggled to keep up with burgeoning demand. Looking ahead to hotter summers to come, it's clear that more needs to be done now to live comfortably alongside the escalating impact of climate change. Across the street, Beverly Botha has been busily serving scoops of gourmet gelato at the award-winning bakery, The Travelling Cupcake, which the Mirror eagerly samples. Originally from South Africa, Beverly moved to England 23 years ago. She admits she loves the heat, noting that a 36°C day would just be "a normal day" back in her home country. Regardless, she and the team are taking strict precautions, keeping the doors shut, and running the air conditioning in the kitchen on full blast. Unsurprisingly, the shop has this week proven a welcome retreat for locals in need of refreshment. "Our gelato has been going crazy, which has been great," said Beverley. "We've been making it non-stop, just trying to keep the freezer fully stocked. "We've got 15 flavours, so we try to keep it fresh and rotate them. We've been selling loads of iced coffees, and smoothies too." While checking our rising thermometer on the High Street, the Mirror runs into Councillor Iris Anderson, who keeps a trusty fan tucked in her handbag. Community-minded Iris has been heartened to see locals helping each other out, from the Bridge Cafe giving away free ice cream lollipops to a Turkish barbershop distributing ice-cold water bottles to passersby. There is also Neighbour Care, which actively checks up on elderly residents - a group Iris is particularly concerned about. However, Iris warns that community kindness cannot protect local communities from the ravages of climate change, emphasising the need for all countries to cooperate. "Things have got to change," she urged. "Whether it's how businesses operate, our working hours, how we keep the shops open during such a global change. "We need to start thinking seriously about the shop workers - how long they are work for and serve customers. We also need to think about our nurses and doctors. It's extremely hard in these hospitals, and they have to do their work and their duty." Do you have a story to share? Email me at [email protected]