Extreme heatwaves have gripped Europe this week
London is burning on Britain’s hottest day on record on July 20 as temperatures in six locations reached 40 Celsius or higher.
More than a hundred firefighting trucks were dispatched to all corners of the city as fields of grass, fences, trees, and buildings were engulfed in flames as the mercury tipped the 40 degrees Celsius barrier (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time in the history of the city.
London Fire Brigade said it has declared a major incident as firefighters battle several significant fires across the capital during today’s record-breaking heatwave. London’s Fire Commissioner Andy Roe has called for an urgent temporary ban on disposable barbecues in all public parks and open spaces.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned that the “huge surge” in the number of blazes was putting the fire service under “immense pressure.”
“For the first time ever, 40 Celsius has provisionally been exceeded in the UK,” the country’s Met Office said. London Heathrow and St. James Park hit 40.2 Celsius (104.3 Fahrenheit).
Five weather stations from London to Lincolnshire have reached 40oC or more, with Coningsby in Lincolnshire topping out at 40.3oC. Nights were also exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas – with records being broken overnight with 25.8oC being recorded at Kenley in Surrey overnight.
“I wasn’t expecting to see this in my career but the UK has just exceeded 40°C for the first time” said Met Office chief of science and technology Stephen Belcher. “For me, it’s a real reminder that the climate has changed and it will continue to change.”
He said that the research conducted here at the Met Office has demonstrated that it’s virtually impossible for the UK to experience 40°C in an undisrupted climate. “But climate change driven by greenhouse gases has made these extreme temperatures possible.”
Ferocious heatwaves have gripped Europe this week, killing over a thousand people in Portugal and Spain, fuelling a spate of wildfires and triggering evacuations.