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Heatwave headlines ablaze with sensationalist fatalism

20 July 2022371 views0

The UK heatwave has dominated headlines this week, and while many made note of how this unusual heatwave is a worrying foresight into the future implications of climate change, it has been hard for many publications to keep a cool head.

Here’s what happened on Tuesday:

The UK recorded its hottest-ever recorded temperature of 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire
At least 34 locations exceeded the UK’s previous temperature record of 38.7C from 2019, according to the Met Office
Scotland recorded its hottest day with a temperature of 34.8C
Two more people were confirmed to have died after getting into difficulty in water in separate incidents, bringing the total in recent days to five. Four were teenage boys and a fifth was a man aged 20
The London Fire Brigade declared a major incident after several fires broke out in and around the capital
A fire in Wennington spread through fields and nearby
Hertfordshire and Leicestershire fire services also declared major incidents

Arguments have circled around the severity of the summer of 1976 where temperatures passed 35C on 5 days and over 32C on 15 consecutive days.

Though temperatures rose past 40C in some places and many broke this previous temperature reading up and down the country, the heatwave lasted a few days. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast in the coming days across the UK.

However, the impact of the heatwave on Monday and Tuesday nonetheless caused devastating damage to several homes, infrastructure, and in some cases, loss of life in water-related accidents in an attempt to keep cool.

While it is not possible to pre-empt all naturally occurring weather wildfires, perhaps it would have been more advised to offer advice to the public on how to assess potential risks in their homes and gardens, how best to keep cool without air conditioning, how to safely light/extinguish barbecues in humid heat, advise against not leaving glass bottles on the grass in case it causes the grass to ignite, extinguish cigarettes safely, and so on, instead of continuing to sensationalise imminent doom.

It’s interesting to note which publications continue to adopt a frenzied panic on Wednesday, and which have chosen a more comprehensive approach to the implications, effects of climate change, or a more reasoned coverage of the heatwave.

‘A wake-up call’: UK hits highest ever temperature

The Guardian

40.3C: Burning hot Britain

-Inferno mayhem as temperatures hit a record high

-Homes torched with motorists dodging flames

Metro

There was a fire on the A2 in Dartford, Kent. Motorists were redirected past the fire services, and fire was brought under control.

HELLFIRE: Inferno rips through homes, heat brings UK to standstill

The Sun

The UK was not brought to a ‘standstill’, though train services were disrupted.

Britain ignites as temperatures break 40C barrier for first time

The Telegraph

The very, very slow MARCH OF THE ZOMBIES:

Boiling Brits sleep deprived

40C hottest day on record

Fires ravage whole country

Daily Star

Nobody is obviously a zombie
At the time of writing, there has been one undetermined fire in Scotland and none in Northern Ireland – by the ‘whole country’, the majority of these headlines primarily mean the south of England, despite leading with ‘Britain’. Of course, this is attributed to the fact the highest temperatures were in this region, but it is nonetheless misleading to imply the whole island suffered from wildfires.