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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Eleanor Crompton
Aired August 10, 2003 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: People in Paris and throughout Europe are trying to keep cool as temperatures reach near triple digits. So far, 40 people have died because of this heat wave, and there are wildfires raging in eight countries. It's so bad the pope has asked people to pray for rain.
We're joined on the phone now by Eleanor Crompton, a weather forecaster in London. Good morning, Eleanor.
ELEANOR CROMPTON, WEATHER FORECASTER: Good morning.
COSTELLO: How long will this last?
CROMPTON: Well, unfortunately for some people it is just about on its way out from the temperatures that we've had over the last few days. In fact, I can give you some breaking news. Over the last hour, two of our stations report the record temperature, 37.4 degrees Celsius. That was recorded at Heathrow Airport and also at (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COSTELLO: And I believe 37.4 would translate to, what, 99 degrees?
CROMPTON: 99.3. So we're looking for another one degree Fahrenheit or so, and that will break the -- well, break the 100 Fahrenheit, and that certainly is unprecedented in the U.K.
COSTELLO: Yes. You know, perhaps people here don't understand what it's like dealing with the heat over there and how Europeans are not used to it. I mean, we have temperatures in Texas of, what, 112 degrees? And many Americans are saying, oh, come on. But tell us.
CROMPTON: That's right. You (UNINTELLIGIBLE), don't you? But the problem is we don't have air-conditioning in our houses. We have it in cars; we have it in offices.
In fact, I'm sitting in one now. It's very pleasant, indeed. But we don't have it in our houses. And so what we find is people head for the beaches. And they get in their cars, in the air- conditioning, head for the beaches, and then we get the road congestion and all that...
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. Because we heard that the road to the beach was eight miles long.
CROMPTON: That's right. Unfortunately, we're also at the time of year when we have a lot of road work done as well, which doesn't help sitting in a very hot car.
COSTELLO: We can definitely relate to that. Is the government doing anything special to help people deal with the heat?
CROMPTON: Nothing as such. Obviously, the hospitals are on standby for people with heat exhaustion. We're giving advice out to make sure people to drink lots of water, stay out of the sun, the usual things. Put on the sunscreen and their hats and the usual things.
But it is very difficult. Really you just have to be sensible and be prepared.
COSTELLO: What is the normal temperature in London for this time of year?
CROMPTON: Well, the average temperature is around about 23 degrees Celsius, so 73 Fahrenheit. It does vary a lot from that. We do sort of have temperatures sometimes during the summer as low as, say, 16, 17/ Not on very many occasions. But, equally, we do have temperatures up to the 27, 28. Twenty-eight is a good, hot summer's day for the U.K.
COSTELLO: OK. So we can now understand why these high temperatures are causing so many problems for our friends overseas. Thanks to you, Eleanor Crompton, live on the phone with us from London this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 10, 2003 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: People in Paris and throughout Europe are trying to keep cool as temperatures reach near triple digits. So far, 40 people have died because of this heat wave, and there are wildfires raging in eight countries. It's so bad the pope has asked people to pray for rain.
We're joined on the phone now by Eleanor Crompton, a weather forecaster in London. Good morning, Eleanor.
ELEANOR CROMPTON, WEATHER FORECASTER: Good morning.
COSTELLO: How long will this last?
CROMPTON: Well, unfortunately for some people it is just about on its way out from the temperatures that we've had over the last few days. In fact, I can give you some breaking news. Over the last hour, two of our stations report the record temperature, 37.4 degrees Celsius. That was recorded at Heathrow Airport and also at (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COSTELLO: And I believe 37.4 would translate to, what, 99 degrees?
CROMPTON: 99.3. So we're looking for another one degree Fahrenheit or so, and that will break the -- well, break the 100 Fahrenheit, and that certainly is unprecedented in the U.K.
COSTELLO: Yes. You know, perhaps people here don't understand what it's like dealing with the heat over there and how Europeans are not used to it. I mean, we have temperatures in Texas of, what, 112 degrees? And many Americans are saying, oh, come on. But tell us.
CROMPTON: That's right. You (UNINTELLIGIBLE), don't you? But the problem is we don't have air-conditioning in our houses. We have it in cars; we have it in offices.
In fact, I'm sitting in one now. It's very pleasant, indeed. But we don't have it in our houses. And so what we find is people head for the beaches. And they get in their cars, in the air- conditioning, head for the beaches, and then we get the road congestion and all that...
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. Because we heard that the road to the beach was eight miles long.
CROMPTON: That's right. Unfortunately, we're also at the time of year when we have a lot of road work done as well, which doesn't help sitting in a very hot car.
COSTELLO: We can definitely relate to that. Is the government doing anything special to help people deal with the heat?
CROMPTON: Nothing as such. Obviously, the hospitals are on standby for people with heat exhaustion. We're giving advice out to make sure people to drink lots of water, stay out of the sun, the usual things. Put on the sunscreen and their hats and the usual things.
But it is very difficult. Really you just have to be sensible and be prepared.
COSTELLO: What is the normal temperature in London for this time of year?
CROMPTON: Well, the average temperature is around about 23 degrees Celsius, so 73 Fahrenheit. It does vary a lot from that. We do sort of have temperatures sometimes during the summer as low as, say, 16, 17/ Not on very many occasions. But, equally, we do have temperatures up to the 27, 28. Twenty-eight is a good, hot summer's day for the U.K.
COSTELLO: OK. So we can now understand why these high temperatures are causing so many problems for our friends overseas. Thanks to you, Eleanor Crompton, live on the phone with us from London this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
