Britain must acclimatise to heatwaves – and fast
Call me a killjoy, but I agree with Zoe Williams (Why do we pretend heatwaves are fun – and ignore the brutal, burning reality? 23 June). It's not just because I'm a fading redhead with fair skin, freckles, vitiligo and a need for factor 50 protection. I enjoy feeling warm to my bones as much as anyone. Today, the world is hotter than it was when I was a child. I'm now 68 and science has been predicting a hotter climate for many years. People around the world are dying because they are overheating.
Does anyone care? The opportunity to build in human-centred solutions to warming is being missed – for example, into urban housing and for vulnerable people, so we are incredibly underprepared for the human tragedy being forecast by scientists. I'm worried for my children and grandchildren. What kind of world are we building?
It's one thing to build in public announcements about how people can stay cool in the heat – obvious things like hydration, sunscreen and keeping curtains closed. The Physiological Society's roadmap for dealing with climate change points the way for multidisciplinary approaches to finding solutions for policymakers and infrastructure, but I fear that the current emphasis on mitigating warmongering means that long‑term heat-related challenges are being ignored.Dr Laura M GinesiYaxham, Norfolk
While much of England has been sweltering under amber heat warnings, another crisis is quietly intensifying: wildfires are fast becoming Britain's most overlooked climate emergency. Already this year, more than 560 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales – a sevenfold rise on the same period in 2024. From scorched moorland to motorway verges, fire crews are stretched to breaking point. Many blazes are caused by disposable barbecues, cigarettes or littered glass – small acts with catastrophic consequences. Peatlands and woodlands, vital carbon sinks and havens for biodiversity, are being destroyed acre by acre.
Yet we have no national wildfire strategy. No consistent bans on open fires during high-risk periods. And fire services, cut to the bone, are being left to improvise in the face of this new normal. This is no longer a Mediterranean problem. Without urgent national action, the UK will face a cycle of summer infernos. Ministers must restore funding to fire services, introduce fire-source bans during alerts and establish a properly resourced wildfire response plan. Anything less is climate complacency.Antony David Davies Shrewsbury, Shropshire
The way in which the media positively presents extremely hot and dangerous weather using words such as 'beautiful' and 'lovely sunny day' infuriates me. Such descriptions are personal value judgments and should be kept out of objective reporting. All that can be said objectively is that it is hot. My immune system struggles to cope with the heat because of medication to help prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. High temperatures and humidity leave me exhausted and forced to seek refuge indoors. I long for more benign weather, days where I can go about my normal life without being forced to opt out until it passes.
The binary view that hot weather equals good and cold/wet weather equals bad must be readdressed in light of current climate challenges if we are to stand any chance of persuading everyone to do their bit to protect the environment. Helen PeeblesStamford, Lincolnshire
The recent report by the Met Office that temperature highs of 45C are now possible in the UK shows how quickly we are sliding into new and wholly terrifying climatic territory. Talk of adaptation and resilience is beside the point – we need emergency decarbonisation to slow the growth of extreme heat, and to salvage something of the climate niche within which human societies have grown and thrived.Jason Scott-WarrenCambridge
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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Why do people get cut off by the tide at Wells-next-the-Sea?
A lifeboat service said it has rescued more people cut off by the tide in the past six months than it has in the past seven years. Last week it was called out after 40 people were cut off at two locations on the Norfolk coastline in the space of two hours. Why is the tide so dangerous and what can you do if you get stranded? With heatwaves arriving, the RNLI crew at Wells-next-the-Sea, in Norfolk, has seen hoards of people visit the beach early in the summer season. Despite signs and sirens at the beach, Mandy Humphreys, the water safety officer at Wells RNLI, said a lot of people have a lack of knowledge about the tides. Impact of a changing seabed Ms Humphreys said the contours of the seabed were "always changing" which leads to people being cut off by the tide, even if they have visited that beach before."This is a natural phenomenon. The seabed in this area is very sandy."Unfortunately, over the last couple of years a sandbar has been forming and gradually growing, which runs parallel to Wells beach. The drain that separates it from the rest of the beach is getting deeper." A sandbar is a submerged area of sand or sediment which is formed by waves and currents offshore from a one formed at Wells is said to have one steep side and the other having a shallow Humphreys said she has been involved in rescues where people did not realise they had been cut off. "The beach is very alluring. It's absolutely beautiful... there are a significant number of people that we rescue that don't understand the basics about tides." Tides and times vary Tide times and heights vary throughout the year and can be affected by a number of factors, including the spring equinox, which Ms Humphreys said brings bigger tides than people added that rising sea levels also have an impact and the RNLI can be called out all year round by people cut off by the tide.A tidal surge in March made a "big tide even bigger" and left three people stranded on an area of marshland north of Stiffkey were found "waist deep in water" in an area where the RNLI has not had to rescue people before. Even locals are vulnerable It is not just beachgoers who have found themselves in troubled waters. As the seabed and sand is ever changing, people living locally and those who have visited the beach on multiple occasions can never be sure of the conditions. As one of the hotspots where people become stranded, the RNLI was first alerted to the sandbar at the beach after a group of local residents became unknowingly her time with the RNLI Ms Humphreys has taken part in a simulation of what it is like to be stranded on a sandbar, and despite wearing a life jacket and having a crew near by she said she was left feeling "incredibly vulnerable".She added: "I've helped rescue people from that sandbar and being stood on that sandbar myself... I still felt quite vulnerable and the urge to wade back to safety is a very strong one, I really understand that now." Be aware of the dangers Ms Humphreys said people visiting the beach often have a lower perception of danger when on far this year 43 people have been rescued by the Wells crew after being stranded, with 34 of them at Wells beach."I've been on rescues where we have gone out... the water has been up to my thigh, and then sometimes if there are dogs or children that are frightened it takes some minutes to get them in, and then it [the water] is up to my waist."Having worked with Wells RNLI for the past seven years, Ms Humphreys said it can take crew members up to 10 minutes to get to an incident after being paged. One of the worst things is they do not always know the exact details of the incident they are going out to."The Stiffkey shout, where we had three shouts on Mothering Sunday, we knew they were up to their waists in water… as a crew member that puts the fear of God into me. Every second really does matter."That's real pressure. So we encourage people that if they are cut off, the earlier they can tell us, the longer we have to get there before they are up to their waists in water." What to do in an emergency If you are stranded at the beach, the RNLI urges people to call 999 for help and use what3words to help the service locate is advised people get back to dry sand at least four hours before high tide. Ms Humphreys said: "If they sit tight and wait for the lifeboat to get there, that's the safest thing to do."For Wells station in particular, we know from the description where they are." Even though people may want to wade through the water, the steep side of the sandbar means people can find themselves in deep water "quicker than expected". "It's not the people who call 999 that worry me so much, it's the people who wade back to safety themselves. We get reports of parents holding children above their heads and I worry that if someone loses their footing, you then have a youngster and an adult in the water." The RNLI's Float to Live campaign advises people that if they find themselves in difficulty they should tilt their head back in the water, try to breath normally, and move their arms and legs to help stay afloat. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Amber heat health alert in force as temperatures could hit 30C today
Temperatures could reach 30C today as a second amber heat health alert in two weeks came into force yesterday. Temperatures reached 29C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on Friday, and the weather is forecast to climb over the next few days, the Met Office said. The UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) alert, which covers London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England, will last until 6pm on Tuesday. It also issued a yellow heat health alert for Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands over the same period. An amber alert was previously issued for all regions in England on 19 June, the first time it had been used since September 2023. The UKHSA alerts are designed to warn health and social care workers about possible significant impacts on their services - they are not public weather warnings. The alerts in place over the coming days warn of a possible rise in weather-related deaths - particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions. 'Rise in temperatures over next few days' Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: "The big talking point at the moment is the rise in temperatures we're going to be seeing over the next few days." Northwest England, parts of Northern Ireland and southern Scotland could see some rain today, and Scotland will see average temperatures for the time of year, but across England it could hit between 29C and 30C in the south east, the forecaster said. There will also be some clouds and it will be quite blustery, but it will ease on Sunday. On Sunday, temperatures will pick up, northwestern Scotland may still see rain, but everywhere else will be warmer, with expected highs of 30-31C in the southeast. There will be a northwest and southeast split on Monday with a chance of it feeling wetter and windier across the northwest, but the heat will remain across central and southern regions. Highs of 34C possible Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said highs of 34C are possible on Monday - with a 20% chance of beating the hottest day in June record of 35.6C from 1976. The likelihood of a record-breaking temperature on Monday could increase over the weekend as the day approaches. If the temperature does exceed 35.6C it would make it the hottest start to Wimbledon ever - with the world-famous tennis tournament beginning on Monday. The highest temperature for the opening day of the tournament so far came on 25 June 2001, with 29.3C at Kew Gardens. Heatwave criteria are likely to be met in a few places on Sunday and Monday, mainly across parts of central and eastern England. A heatwave is recorded when an area reaches a certain temperature - the level of which varies across the UK - for three consecutive days. Robinson said there is some uncertainty over how quickly daytime temperatures will start to fall - but it is likely to happen from Tuesday. She added that June is the first month of summer so higher temperatures are more likely in July and August. However, a rapid analysis from scientists at World Weather Attribution found that June heatwaves in the South East - where there would need to be three consecutive days of temperatures above 28C - are about 10 times more likely due to climate change compared with the cooler pre-industrial climate. It comes after 2023 brought the hottest June on record with heatwaves also seen in June 2017 and June 2020. Last Saturday was the hottest day of 2025 so far, with a provisional temperature of 33.2C recorded in Charlwood, Surrey.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Amber heat health alert in force as 30C temperatures forecast today
Temperatures could reach 30C today as a second amber heat health alert in two weeks came into force yesterday. Temperatures reached 29C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on Friday, and the weather is forecast to climb over the next few days, the Met Office said. The UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) alert, which covers London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England, will last until 6pm on Tuesday. It also issued a yellow heat health alert for Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands over the same period. An amber alert was previously issued for all regions in England on 19 June, the first time it had been used since September 2023. The UKHSA alerts are designed to warn health and social care workers about possible significant impacts on their services - they are not public weather warnings. The alerts in place over the coming days warn of a possible rise in weather-related deaths - particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions. 'Rise in temperatures over next few days' Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: "The big talking point at the moment is the rise in temperatures we're going to be seeing over the next few days." Northwest England, parts of Northern Ireland and southern Scotland could see some rain on Saturday, and Scotland will see average temperatures for the time of year, but across England it could hit between 29C and 30C in the south east, the forecaster said. On Saturday, there will be some clouds and it will be quite blustery, but it will ease on Sunday. On Sunday, temperatures will pick up, northwestern Scotland may still see rain, but everywhere else will be warmer, with expected highs of 30-31C in the south east. There will be a northwest and southeast split on Monday with a chance of it feeling wetter and windier across the north west, but the heat will remain across central and southern regions. Highs of 34C possible Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said highs of 34C are possible on Monday - with a 20% chance of beating the hottest day in June record of 35.6C from 1976. The likelihood of a record-breaking temperature on Monday could increase over the weekend as the day approaches. If the temperature does exceed 35.6C it would make it the hottest start to Wimbledon ever - with the world-famous tennis tournament beginning on Monday. The highest temperature for the opening day of the tournament so far came on 25 June 2001, with 29.3C at Kew Gardens. Heatwave criteria are likely to be met in a few places on Sunday and Monday, mainly across parts of central and eastern England. A heatwave is recorded when an area reaches a certain temperature - the level of which varies across the UK - for three consecutive days. Robinson said there is some uncertainty over how quickly daytime temperatures will start to fall - but it is likely to happen from Tuesday. She added that June is the first month of summer so higher temperatures are more likely in July and August. However, a rapid analysis from scientists at World Weather Attribution found that June heatwaves in the South East - where there would need to be three consecutive days of temperatures above 28C - are about 10 times more likely due to climate change compared with the cooler pre-industrial climate. It comes after 2023 brought the hottest June on record with heatwaves also seen in June 2017 and June 2020. Last Saturday was the hottest day of 2025 so far, with a provisional temperature of 33.2C recorded in Charlwood, Surrey.
