The record heat wave in Britain has spurred calls on the government to step up efforts to adapt to a changing climate, especially after fires created the busiest day for London firefighters since the bombs rained in the city during World War II.
The country rested on Wednesday from the dry, warm climate that is taking over much of Europe as cooler air came in from the west, recovering temperatures in the mid-1920s.
The scene of a fire in the village of Wennington, east London. (Yui Mok / PA via AP) (AP)
Britain had to prepare for similar heat waves in the future because man-made carbon emissions have already changed the climate, said Professor Stephen Belcher, chief scientist at the Met Office, the weather service national law of the United Kingdom.
Only aggressive emission reductions would reduce the frequency of these events, he said.
“Everything remains to be played, but we have to adapt to the kind of events we saw yesterday as an extremely occasional event,” Baker told the BBC.
Climate scientists have been surprised by the speed with which temperatures have risen in Britain in recent years and the widespread area affected by this week’s event.
Thirty-four locations in the UK on Tuesday broke the country’s previous record temperature of 37.8ºC, set in 2019, with a new high of 40.3ºC set in Coningsby.
A row of houses in Wennington was destroyed by the flames that crossed the nearby dry and dry fields (Yui Mok / PA via AP) (AP)
Time has hit a country where few homes, schools or small businesses have air conditioning and infrastructure such as railways, highways and airports are not designed to cope with these temperatures.
Thirteen people, including seven teenagers, are believed to have died trying to cool off after getting into trouble in rivers, reservoirs and lakes.
Fifteen fire brigades reported major incidents as more than 60 properties across the country were destroyed on Tuesday, Cabinet Office Minister Kit Malthouse told the House of Commons.
One of the largest fires was in Wennington, a village on the outskirts of east London, where a row of houses was destroyed by the flames that crossed the nearby dry fields.
Resident Tim Stock said he and his wife fled after the house next door caught fire and the fire quickly spread.
“It was like a war zone,” he said.
“On the actual main road, all the windows had exploded, all the roofs had given way, it was like a Blitz scene.”
The scene after a fire in the village of Wennington. (Aaron Chown / PA via AP) (AP)
The London Fire Brigade received 2,600 calls on Tuesday, compared to the normal figure of about 350, Mayor Sadiq Khan said, adding that it was the busiest day in the department since World War II.
Despite lower temperatures on Wednesday, the danger of fire remained high because the warm, dry weather had dried up the prairies around the city, Khan said.
“Once it ignites, it spreads incredibly fast, like wildfires as seen in the movies or fires in California or parts of France,” Khan told the BBC.
Phil Gerigan, leader of the National Fire Chiefs Council resilience group, said forest fires were an emerging threat linked to climate change stretching the capacity of fire departments.
The UK could have to expand its capacity to fight them by adding more tankers and helicopters, it told the BBC.
“As we look to the future, it is certainly something that the UK government and fire and rescue services need to keep in mind,” he said.
“Do we have the capacity, the assets, to be able to meet what is a significantly emerging demand?”
Passengers check schedules after train cancellations at London’s King’s Cross station on Wednesday 20 July 2022. The British record heat wave disrupted travel for a third day and firefighters remained on alert Wednesday, though cloudy skies and showers eased after two days of heat. temperatures. (Yui Mok / PA via AP) (AP)
Forest fires continue to spread destruction to other parts of Europe. Nearly 500 firefighters fought to contain a large fire that threatened the suburbs of the hills outside Athens for a second day as fires burned on a southern strip of the continent.
A respite from the strong heat helped improve conditions in France, Spain and Portugal, countries that have been battling the flames for days.
The British travel network also suffered during the hot weather, with Luton Airport briefly closed by a heat-damaged runway and trains forced to run at low speeds due to concerns that the heat would deform or interrupt the rails. the power supply.
Some disruptions were maintained on Wednesday, with the main train line from London to Edinburgh closed while crews worked to repair fire-damaged power lines and signaling equipment.
Among those stranded were Lee Ball, 46, who was trying to travel with his wife, Libby, and his 10-year-old daughter, Amelie, from Worcestershire to London to go to Brussels for an Ed Sheeran concert. .
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Their train was canceled with less than 30 minutes notice, so they drove to another station and waited.
“I’ve been awake since 4.30 in the morning, anxious, trying to get an answer from anywhere we can,” Ball said.
The communication from the train companies had been “horrible,” he said.