Firefighters in London experienced their “busiest day since the Second World War” on Tuesday as extreme temperatures coupled with tinder-dry conditions led to fires breaking out. The heatwave caused major incidents in London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire, with dozens of homes being destroyed.
The UK experienced its hottest day on record yesterday (July 19), with a high of 40.3C reported in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, as the country endured searing temperatures. More than 2,600 calls were made to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) throughout the day - seven times more calls than usual.
In Upminster and the village of Wennington, east London, two “large scale” incidents were declared as fires burned through buildings and surrounding fields. Sixteen firefighters were injured while tackling the blazes while two were admitted to hospital but were later discharged, LFB assistant commissioner Jonathan Smith told Times Radio.
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Speaking to Sky News, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Yesterday was the busiest day for the fire service in London since the Second World War.
“Yesterday they received more than 2,600 calls – more than a dozen simultaneous fires requiring 30 engines, a couple requiring 15, and some requiring 12. I’m afraid the bad news is, 41 properties were destroyed in London.”
Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News that the fires were a “warning sign” about the impact of climate change.
He said: “This is a remarkable, unprecedented event and something which obviously, because people have been saying, we are not used to seeing in this country. What we’ve seen in recent days is not normal and it is a warning sign.”
According to the Met Office 34 observation sites across England provisionally broke the previous record for the hottest day, 38.7C in Cambridge three years ago. A further five had equalled it on Tuesday.
Firefighters in Norfolk were called to more than 80 incidents on Tuesday, including one that started in a field in the village of Ashmanhaugh and spread to two homes. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said it had been called to more than 60 incidents, 38 of which were fires in the open, describing the situation as “unprecedented”.
Nine people have died since Saturday in swimming accidents and there has been widespread disruption to train services. All trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes were suspended as emergency services dealt with a lineside fire in the afternoon. East Midlands Railway was running limited services between Derby, Nottingham, Luton, Bedford and London, which were due to stop completely between lunchtime and 7pm – the hottest period of the day.
It comes as the temperature is set to drop by up to 10C in some areas on Wednesday, with heavy showers and thunderstorms predicted to lash parts of the country, potentially causing localised flooding and further travel disruption. Heatwaves are being made more intense, frequent and longer by climate change, and scientists said it would be “virtually impossible” for the UK to have experienced temperatures reaching 40C without human-driven global warming.
However, the Met Office said there would be a showery breakdown of the heat on Wednesday, with a yellow warning for thunderstorms in place for parts of south-east, east and central England in the afternoon and evening. The service warns people to expect flooding or lightning strikes, delays and some cancellations to train and bus services, spray and sudden flooding, road closures and possible power cuts.
The weather will be fresher for most places, although some parts of East Anglia will still see temperatures reach as high as 30C.Wednesday’s rain, where it occurs, will be much heavier than on Tuesday.
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