THOUSANDS of households across the York area lost their power supplies yesterday as the city became one of the hottest places in the world.

A record-breaking 39C, or 102.2F, was recorded at 4pm at the Met Office's nearest official station to York at Topcliffe - hotter than traditional hotspots including Athens, Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Malaga, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

The heatwave caused a series of power cuts across the region as conductors sagged and transformers overheated, said Northern Powergrid.

More than 500 properties in Acomb, 1,000 in the Tadcaster area, 1,050 in the Thorganby area, 110 in Pickering and 80 in nearby villages and 70 in Pocklington were amongst those losing their electricity supply on Monday evening and yesterday - just as it was needed to power fans and aircon units.

Andy Bilclough, director of field operations at Northern Powergrid, said teams worked into the early hours of yesterday to restore power after Monday’s extreme temperatures caused a higher than usual number of faults.

He said the company was expecting another busy day as the temperature rose even higher yesterday but it was ready, with teams available to restore power and extra people in its contact centre to provide support and advice to customers.

The heatwave also prompted many shoppers and tourists to stay away from York city centre. At high noon, normally busy streets such as Coney Street and Parliament Street looked almost as deserted as during the pandemic lockdowns.

A number of shops of drinking and eating venues also shut because of the heat, including Spark:York, the eating, drinking and shopping destination based in upcycled shipping containers in Picadilly, which said it had decided to remain closed for the day 'to ensure the safety of our team, traders and guests alike.'

Other York businesses staying closed because of the heat included Totally Wicked e-cig shop in Coppergate, Silver Lining, a piercing and jewellery shop in Fossgate, and 'Hogi the Barber' in Walmgate.

Meanwhile at Selby, the entertainment centre Selby Superbowl, which offers activities including Ten Pin Bowling, Lazer Tag, Kub Karting and a bar & diner, said it had decided to close on Tuesday due to the heat 'and to give our staff the chance to keep cool too.'
York railway station was almost deserted, following advice by train operators including LNER, Northern and TPE not to travel.

LNER said the East Coast Mainline was closed between York and London because of fears about rails buckling and overhead power lines drooping and being caught by passing trains, and it said there was also damage to overhead wiring between Newcastle and Berwick, which had been causing severe disruption.

It said:"Please do not travel today, Tuesday 19th July," adding that tickets could be used today and tomorrow instead.