The unprecedented heatwave that has swept across the UK for the past few days is putting enormous pressure on the UK government to adapt to climate change, following the busiest day for firefighters in London since the downpour of World War II bombs.
The country got a respite on Wednesday from the dry and hot weather hitting Europe when a mass of cooler air arrived from the west. Meteorologists were predicting a high of 26C in London, compared to the record 40.3C set the day before in Coningsby, eastern England.
Even so, travel was disrupted for a third day as rail carriers repaired heat damage and firefighters scrambled to finish putting out Tuesday’s blazes.
The UK must prepare for more such heatwaves in the future, as man-made pollutant emissions have already altered the climate, warned the head of the national meteorological agency, the Met Office, Professor Stephen Bellcher. Only an aggressive reduction in these emissions will reduce the frequency of such events, he added.
“Everything is still in play, but we should adapt to the type of event we saw yesterday,” Belcher told Britain’s BBC.
Climate scientists are stunned at how quickly UK temperatures have risen in recent years and the scale of the territory affected by this week’s events. On Tuesday, the previous heat record (37.8°C, set in 2019) was broken at 39 locations across the country.
Fires and drownings
The heat wave has pummeled a country where air-conditioned homes, schools and small businesses are in short supply, and where infrastructure like rail, highways and airports are not equipped to handle such heat.
Thirteen people, including seven teenagers, apparently drowned while trying to cool off in the country’s waterways.
Fifteen fire departments declared major incidents and more than 60 properties were destroyed across the country on Tuesday, Minister Kit Malthouse revealed in the House of Commons.
One of the biggest fires broke out in Wennington, a village in the east London suburbs where a row of houses were lost when flames swept through nearby parched fields.
London firefighters received some 2,600 calls on Tuesday, compared to a daily average of around 350, said the metropolis mayor, Sadiq Khan, who later clarified that it was the busiest day for the fire service since World War II.
Despite cooler weather on Tuesday, the risk of fire remains high because hot, dry weather has parched fields around the city, Khan warned.
“When the fire breaks out, it spreads incredibly quickly, like the wildfires you see in movies or the fires in California or parts of France,” Khan told the BBC.
Phil Gerigan of the National Council of Fire Chiefs described wildfires as an emerging threat associated with climate change that is testing the capabilities of fire departments.
The UK may need to increase the means at its disposal to combat them, for example by adding air tankers and helicopters, he told the BBC.
Some travel disruptions persisted in the UK. The main rail link between London and Edinburgh was still closed while the heat damage was repaired.
Forest fires continue to wreak havoc across Europe. Some 500 firefighters backed by helicopters were battling a huge blaze on Wednesday that threatened suburbs in the hills near Athens for a second straight day.
A manager assured that the disaster is essentially under control, despite winds of 80 kilometers per hour. A second fire, however, broke out in the hills of the town of Megara, 40 kilometers to the west.
Several houses have already been destroyed near Mount Penteli, 25 kilometers northeast of Athens. At least two people were hospitalized after being overcome by smoke or for minor burns. Some 600 others were evacuated.
A respite from the heat has led to an improvement in the situation in France, Spain and Portugal, where firefighters have been fighting the flames relentlessly for several days.
Fires burning in France have so far destroyed 25% more land than at the same time last year, the government announced on Wednesday.
The Portuguese Ministry of Health on Wednesday testified to an excessive mortality rate of 1,065 deaths between July 7 and 18. Officials blame the heat and warn that further loss of life is likely over the next few days as the heat returns.