“It is very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property,” the U.K.’s weather service said.
By Mithil Aggarwal
A record-breaking heat wave could cause “danger to life” in the U.K., forecasters warned as scorching temperatures fueled wildfires and promptsx weather warnings in several European countries.
On Saturday Britain's government held a meeting of its emergency committee, known as Cobra, after the country's national weather service issued its first-ever “red warning” for extreme heat for Monday and Tuesday.
This means “it very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure,” the Meteorological Office, known as the Met Office, said on its website.
It came after the U.K. Health Security Agency increased its heat- health warning from level three to level four — which constitutes a national emergency.
Temperatures in southern England were forecasted to reach 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the Met Office said Friday. That would surpass U.K.’s highest-ever temperature of 101.7 degrees, recorded in July 2019.
As a result, officials in a country where air-conditioning in homes is rare have urged people not to take public transportation, and some schools have said they would hold classes remotely.
Across Britain, Met Office data showed that cities like London and Manchester would hit temperatures forecasted in long-range climate projections for the year 2040. Highs of almost 104 degrees are predicted.
Scorching temperatures are also forecast for parts of France and Spain, where a high of 107.6 degrees is predicted on Monday.
In the Bordeaux region of southwestern France, 12,200 people have been forced to evacuate their homes as wildfires sweep through, the local authority for the Gironde Department said in a statement Saturday.
Almost 1,200 firefighters and four specialist planes were battling to contain two blazes that have burned 25,000 acres of land, including woodlands south of the Atlantic resort town of Arcachon, which have burned since Tuesday, the statement added.
Although one of the fires had been partially contained, hotter temperatures and winds over the weekend could complicate the firefighting efforts, according to the department's statement.