LONDON – It was so hot in the United Kingdom on Monday that the runway at the country’s largest air force base "melted," according to a report.
Sky News
reported that flights were halted at Royal Air Force Base Brize Norton in Oxfordshire because the "runway had melted." The report came as temperatures soared to 95 degrees at the base Monday afternoon.
A
tweet from the Ministry of Defence Press Office said that aircraft are using alternative airfields as part of a "long-established plan" to deal with extreme temperatures.
According to
ASI, a company in the UK that sells products to maintain asphalt surfaces, the air base uses an asphalt runway. Binders in asphalt are known to liquefy during extreme heat, as
was the case in Texas during a heat wave in late June.
Officials at London's Luton Airport said in a
tweet that they are working to repair a defect in the runway resulting from the high temperatures. Operations have been paused in the meantime.
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/uk-heat-wave-runway-melting-cover-windows-with-foil