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Hammersmith Bridge has been wrapped in giant pieces of foil to stop it from overheating as temperatures soar, BBC reported.

Silver insulation foil has been placed over the structure to protect it from the sun and keep the bridge open, with London expected to see highs of 35C (95F) next week.

A £420,000 temperature control system is also switched on at night.

The bridge, currently only accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, was also closed in 2020 due to a heatwave.

An amber alert has been issued by the Met Office from Sunday until Tuesday, with extreme heat expected in the capital.

Hammersmith Bridge, which was built in 1887, is currently undergoing major repair works at an estimated cost of £140m.

The heatwave in 2020 closed the Grade II*-listed structure when cracks in the cast-iron expanded. The bridge reopened the following year but only to pedestrians and cyclists.

Almost £9m has already been spent on stabilising the bridge's pedestals.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council said a toll to help pay for repairs was the "only way" the bridge could reopen entirely, according to BBC.

Insulation foil and the cooling system are being used to keep the bridge's pedestals safe in order for it to remain open. 

The supporting chains are maintained to stay at 13C (55F). Engineers will need to close the bridge if the temperature of the chains reaches 18C (64F), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Sebastian Springer, the engineer who is leading the project, said: "The safety of the public is our first priority.

"The temperature control system allows us to track weather spikes and maintain a constant temperature. As we deal with the current extreme heat, we are also coming up with innovative solutions to keep the temperature within the threshold."

Around 25 million children around the world missed out on routine vaccinations last year that protect against life-threatening diseases, as the knock-on effects of the pandemic continue to disrupt health care globally, Reuters reported.

That is two million more children than in 2020, when COVID-19 caused lockdowns around the world, and six million more than pre-pandemic in 2019, according to new figures released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

UNICEF described the drop in vaccination coverage as the largest sustained backslide in childhood vaccination in a generation, taking coverage rates back to levels not seen since the early 2000s.

Many had hoped that 2021 would see some ground recovered after the first year of the pandemic, but the situation actually worsened, raising questions over catch-up efforts.

"I want to get across the urgency," UNICEF's senior immunisation specialist, Niklas Danielsson told Reuters. "This is a child health crisis."

The agency said that a focus on COVID-19 immunisation campaigns in 2021, as well as the economic slowdown and strain on healthcare systems, had stymied a quicker recovery for routine vaccinations.

Coverage dropped in every region, the figures showed, which are estimated using data on the take-up of the three-dose diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) jab and include both children who get no jabs at all and those who miss on any of the three doses necessary for protection. Globally, coverage fell by 5% to 81% last year, according to Reuters.

The number of "zero-dose" children, who did not receive any vaccinations, rose by 37% between 2019 and 2021, from 13 to 18 million children mostly in low and middle-income countries, the data showed.

For many diseases, more than 90% of children need to be vaccinated in order to prevent outbreaks. There have already been reports of rising cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in recent months, including a 400% rise in measles cases in Africa in 2022.

"If we don't catch up on vaccinations quickly and urgently, we will inevitably witness more outbreaks," said UNICEF's Ephrem Tekle Lemango, saying Yemen and Afghanistan were among countries with large and disruptive measles outbreaks in recent months.

In 2021, 24.7 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine, and a further 14.7 million did not get the essential second dose, the data showed. Coverage was 81%, the lowest since 2008, Reuters reported.

The numbers are worked out using data from national health systems in 177 countries.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $100 million development policy credit (DPC) to help improve the enabling environment for Nepal’s green, climate-resilient, and inclusive development pathway.

This is the first in a programmatic series of three DPCs on Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID).

“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank has pivoted its program in Nepal to focus support to the Government to pursue a greener, more inclusive, and more resilient development path, said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, read a statement issued on Friday.

"Through this operation, we are supporting the Government’s key policy actions across sectors including water, land use, agriculture, forest, urban, waste, and pollution,” he further said.

This first operation supports strategic GRID transitions that help build and maintain prosperity for all. This includes the sustainable and productive use of natural capital; strengthening the resilience of urban and rural infrastructure, human capital, and livelihoods to climate and environmental risks; and promoting more efficient and cleaner production, consumption, and mobility.

The operation also supports reforms for strengthening inclusion in development decision-making and access to assets and services; and encourages private sector investment in greening Nepal’s economy and creating jobs and livelihoods related to such areas as community forestry, agriculture, clean air, and solid waste management.

“Nepal’s shift to the GRID approach is a strategic move during a challenging era that is full of opportunity. This shift will help the country continue to make progress on expanding and protecting prosperity while reducing poverty in the face of compounding challenges that affect Nepal’s development, including COVID, disaster, climate and environmental risks,” said Steve Danyo, Sector Leader for Sustainable Development for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and the Task Team Leader for the operation. “The GRID DPC supports Nepal’s shift to a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy.”

Nepal reported 229 new Covid-19 cases on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 644 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 161 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 074 people underwent antigen tests, of which 68 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 48 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 1,284 active cases in the country.