p style=text-align: center;object width=425 height=344param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/JCvHOHjZZH4/paramparam name=allowFullScreen value=true/paramparam name=allowscriptaccess value=always/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/JCvHOHjZZH4 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowscriptaccess=always allowfullscreen=true width=425 height=344/embed/object/pp style=text-align: center;a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCvHOHjZZH4 target=_blank British heat wave report on youtube/a/ppPeople in Britain got a welcome break from their usual rain and misery recently when a heatwave broke out across the country. The last week of June this year saw UK temperatures soar to a reported 35 degrees Celsius (95F), the warmest since 2006. It was also the hottest temperature in June for decades – the average for June is 19-22 degrees Celcius (66-72F).!–more–/ppYet one of the things thats bound to happen in a country which hardly ever sees a proper summer, people start to go a bit loopy./pp/ppstrongSunburn City/strong/ppThe first thing British people do when even the smallest amount of sun is spotted is get their kit off. With temperatures like this you cant but avoid swarms of sunbathers trying to get a natural tan for once, jostling for space in the best suntanning spots. Several months down the line you can be sure of a few melanoma scares resulting from the overexuberant sun-worshipping./pp/ppstrongThe Grumbling Begins/strong/ppTrue to form, the British mentality cant deal with simply being happy and counting there blessings for more than a few days. Inevitably complaints about it being too unbearably hot and sticky soon became commonplace, and people started longing for cooler conditions again. And, inevitably, there were petitions to demand the government do something about the awful hot weather and lack of a href=http://www.airandwatercentre.com target=_blankair conditioning/a in public places!/pp/ppstrongStaying Cool/strong/ppWhile half of the UK population is getting into their beach wear and throwing themselves on deckchairs directly under the sun, the rest rushes down to the high street and sucks up the entire stock of a href=http://www.airandwatercentre.com/store/SEURLF/ASP/SFS/CID.5/SFE/productcategories.htm target=_blankdesk fans/a like some sweaty, many-headed monster. According to Google, searches for the term a href=http://www.airandwatercentre.com/store/SEURLF/ASP/SFS/CID.1/SFE/productcategories.htm target=_blankportable air conditioner/a in the UK went from 9,900 in May to 49,500 in June!/pp/ppstrongIs That a Storm Cloud on the Horizon?/strong/ppUnfortunately these Mediterranean conditions failed to stick around, and after a week of this there were equally severe thunderstorms and rain, leading to severe flooding in some parts.The yo-yoing between extreme weather patterns is certainly worrying for environmental campaigners as an example of climate change in effect.Now, of course, the UK public is now starting to complain about the rain and harking back to the heatwave. I guess theres no winning./pp/p