The current heatwave is not expected to break any daily temperature records, however, on Thursday the Met Office announced there have been eight days in 2026 where the heat has reached or exceeded 34C.

There were two in the May heatwave, four in June’s and so far two in this one, which is a record for the calendar year, surpassing 1976 and 2020. A further 34C plus reading is anticipated on Friday.

During June’s heatwave, temperatures peaked at 37.7C in Lingwood, Norfolk, smashing the previous June record of 35.6C.

Wales also recorded its hottest June day with 35.9C in Cardiff, while Northern Ireland equalled its June record with 30.8C in Castlederg, County Tyrone.

Scotland fell just slightly short of hitting its all-time June record which was 32.2C set in 1893. In June its top temperature was 31.2C at Threave, in Dumfries and Galloway.

In this July heatwave the highest temperature so far this time has been 35.5C at Wisley in Surrey, on Thursday.

Although temperatures will drop off a little into the weekend, many places will still reach the official heatwave thresholds through much of next week.

People may be drawing comparisons with 1976, where the UK saw 16 consecutive days above 30C, but this record is not likely to be broken.

The highest temperature recorded in the UK was during the unprecedented heatwave of 2022, when an astonishing 40.3C was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

To people, salt is a kitchen staple. But to crops, too much of it can be devastating.

Across coastal regions and irrigated agricultural land, salt is accumulating in soils, making it harder for plants to absorb water and reducing harvests. Scientists estimate that around half
of the world’s irrigated farmland is now affected by salinity to some degree.

The problem is only expected to grow. Rising sea levels can push saltwater into coastal farmland, while changing rainfall patterns and more frequent droughts are increasing reliance on irrigation. Poor-quality irrigation water and the overuse of fertilisers can worsen the problem, leaving salts behind in the soil year after year.

This is an issue because the global population is expected to approach 10 billion by the middle of the century, while demand for food continues to rise. Finding ways to grow crops in increasingly difficult conditions is becoming one of agriculture’s biggest challenges.

But plants are not passive victims. Beneath the surface, their roots are engaged in a constant battle with their environment. They sense danger, adapt their growth and deploy sophisticated strategies to survive.

Underground intelligence network

Roots do far more than anchor plants in the ground. They are the plant’s frontline, constantly gathering information about the soil around them. Every day, roots assess water availability, nutrient levels and environmental threats. When salt levels begin to rise, they are the first part of the plant to detect the change.

For plants, excess salt creates a double challenge. First, it makes it harder to draw water from the soil, almost as if the plant is trying to drink through a blocked straw. Second, sodium can build up inside tissues, damaging cells and interfering with essential biological processes.

Roots can detect these changes remarkably quickly. As salt concentrations increase, cells in the root begin sending warning signals through the plant. These signals trigger a cascade of responses, including shifts in hormone levels and the activation of emergency survival mechanisms designed to protect growth.

One of the most remarkable things about roots is their flexibility. Unlike the branches above ground, roots can continually reshape themselves in response to changing conditions. Faced with salty soil, they may alter how deeply they grow, how many side branches they produce and even the direction they travel.

In effect, roots can steer themselves away from trouble. Research has shown that plants can bend roots away from highly saline patches of soil while continuing to search for water and nutrients elsewhere. Growth may slow in certain areas, helping the plant avoid pushing vulnerable new tissues into harmful conditions.

This hidden reshaping of the root system can make a difference to the chances of survival. By avoiding the saltiest parts of the soil, plants can reduce the amount of sodium they absorb while continuing to access the resources they need.

At the same time, roots are working to control any salt that does enter the plant. Excess sodium is dangerous because it can damage proteins and cell membranes. To prevent this, root cells actively move sodium into storage compartments where it can do less harm, or pump it back into the surrounding soil.

The result is a carefully managed balancing act that helps protect the more sensitive tissues above ground.

Can plants ‘remember’ stress?

Perhaps the most surprising area of research is the idea that plants may be able to learn from experience. Scientists are increasingly finding evidence that previous exposure to environmental stress can influence how plants respond in the future. In crops such as rice, for example, plants that have encountered salt before can sometimes cope better when exposed to it again.

Rather than involving memory in the human sense, these experiences appear to leave lasting chemical marks on DNA and associated structures within cells. These marks can influence which genes are switched on or off when stress returns, allowing plants to respond more quickly or effectively.

À lire aussi :
How plants are able to remember stress without a brain

Similar effects have been observed in responses to heat and drought stress. It suggests that plants may possess a surprisingly sophisticated ability to prepare for future challenges.

Some studies even suggest that aspects of these stress responses could be passed to the next generation, potentially helping offspring cope better with harsh environments. While many questions remain unanswered, the possibility that plants can retain and pass on information about past stresses is opening up an exciting new area of research.

But what does this mean for future food supplies? As salt levels in soil increase, crops face mounting pressure. Salinity can stunt growth, reduce yields and leave plants less able to cope with other challenges such as drought and extreme heat. In reality, these stresses often arrive together. That’s why understanding roots has become such an important scientific priority.

The better researchers understand how roots detect, avoid and tolerate salt, the better equipped breeders will be to develop crops that can thrive in difficult conditions. By identifying the root traits that help plants survive saline environments, scientists may be able to breed or engineer varieties capable of maintaining yields on land that would otherwise become less productive.

Much of this battle is invisible, unfolding centimetres below our feet. But the decisions that roots make underground could have profound consequences above ground. In a future where climate change is making agriculture increasingly unpredictable, the key to protecting food supplies may lie in understanding how plants wage their quiet war against salt.

Playing to an audience restricted to those with a Bolton postcode and in aid of Bolton Hospice, he delighted the packed hall.

David Pye, who was one of the lucky ones to have got a ticket said: “It was so good to see Peter back where it all began in his home town to a crowd made up of fellow Boltonians – and he didn’t disappoint.

“After announcing it was his first time back performing at The Albert Halls for 22 years, the first half of his show had a distinctly local feel.

“For anyone who has seen his latest show on his record-breaking tour, the first part of this show was different and without wanted to spoil it for anyone going, it takes a trip down a local Memory Lane.

“I have seen Peter loads of times, from big arenas to intimate warm-up shows and conversation fundraisers and this was as funny as ever. Peter was on top form on home turf.”

And even The Bolton News and local gets a mention as part of the act!

Those with tickets can book a Phoenix Nights themed meal at The Albert beforehand.

The Albert Halls is a venue he last performed at in 2003, recording the iconic Peter Kay: Live at the Bolton Albert Halls, which to this day is the biggest-selling stand-up DVD of all time in the UK.

And for those who are going to see the comic, you will be in for a treat as no one other than Boltonians would really get it.

Last year he appeared with fellow Boltonian Sara Cox at The Lowry Theatre for an ‘in conversation with’ and that was again for Bolton Hospice and also The Crescent Foodbank.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney defended his trip to Saudi Arabia despite its poor human rights record and said on Thursday, during his visit to the kingdom that publicly condemning countries from afar is “an ineffective strategy.”

During the visit — the first by a Canadian leader to Saudi Arabia in 26 years — Carney met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Carney has been seeking to expand his country’s economic ties beyond its heavy reliance on the United States, and diversify trade and attract investments against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

“Lecturing countries from afar is an ineffective strategy,” Carney told reporters in the Saudi city of Jeddah. “It’s satisfying, but it’s ineffective.”

He stressed that engagement “doesn’t mean that we agree with everything that a country is doing.”

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record drew global scrutiny after the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. A U.S. intelligence assessment concluded Prince Mohammed likely approved the operation, which Saudi Arabia denies.

In Jeddah, Carney also said that the world is becoming more dangerous and divided and that Canada must expand its partnerships elsewhere, beyond the U.S., its largest trading partner.

The visit contrasts with the approach by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government publicly criticized Saudi Arabia’s human rights record in 2018, triggering a diplomatic rift that lasted five years.

The criticism prompted Riyadh to expel Canada’s ambassador, suspend new trade and investment and recall thousands of Saudi students. The countries restored full diplomatic relations in 2023.

Carney said he cares deeply about human rights and Canadian consular cases, citing a case he said he raised with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey’s capital this week.

“Because I was with the president, it was addressed favorably. If I sat in Ottawa … I wouldn’t have had that conversation. I wouldn’t have had that impact. That’s a small example,” Carney said.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, who accompanied Carney to Saudi Arabia, said she also raised human rights and consular cases during her meetings.

​Kebbell Developments wanted to relax the “trigger for the delivery” of a connecting road and bridge in Eastfield, Scarborough, but coastal councillors said they were not convinced by the company’s arguments.

​Planning officers had recommended allowing the construction and occupation of dozens more houses to avoid pausing construction works. However, members of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee said they were minded to refuse the application following concerns from residents and the division councillor.

​Cllr Eric Broadbent said: “I think the Channel Tunnel is probably easier to build than this bridge.

“I can’t support this application, and the developers should get their heads together, get it built, and do the residents of Deepdale a favour.”

​However, officers said that plans for the construction of the bridge were underway and were “satisfied that developers are fully committed to the bridge and we expect a formal application in the very near future”.

​Committee members said they remained sceptical, but instead of refusing the delay, they agreed to postpone a decision until “substantive” plans for the bridge were provided.

​​The site, on land north of Eastfield, received outline planning permission in 2013 for up to 1,350 properties.

​In 2023, a hybrid application was approved for around 657 dwellings on land east of Deepdale, and it is the conditions attached to that permission for which a change was sought.

​The new scheme would allow for 693 houses to be occupied “prior to construction of the link road and bridge to allow construction of the current phase to be completed”.

​Speaking at the meeting, a planning officer said a “compromise solution had been proposed by the applicant” and that the revised proposal was “a reasonable and sensible compromise”.

​Officers added that “a specialist bridge design company has been engaged by the company, with a formal submission to be made later this year”.

​Eastfield councillor Tom Seston said: “The issue with the link road and the bridge was raised with me as soon as I was elected and it’s been a sore spot for many residents on the development.

​“The lack of delivery of basic infrastructure in certain parts of the development and developers not fulfilling their promises has been a long-running issue, while I appreciate that not all the issues are linked to one single developer.

​“The behaviour of various companies has left a bad taste in residents’ mouths, and they feel neglected by these companies.”

​Councillors were advised that the issue was complicated by different developers working simultaneously at the site.

​Officers noted that there had been “a previous allowance, three or four years ago, to delay the construction of the bridge”.

​“Denying Kebble this application may not result in the bridge being delivered any sooner, and this situation is not entirely of Kebble’s making, as there are several companies at work here.”

​The planning committee agreed to postpone a decision until September and instructed officers to seek clarification on the developer’s plans for the bridge.