The Met Office issued a storm warning for the UK on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after the driest start to the year since 1976. The rain warning comes after another weekend of fires across London, including Enfield, Rammey Marsh and Turkey Street. Hundreds of firefighters worked to extinguish the flames that threatened a school, nearby roads and livestock. The grass fires were some of the hundreds that the London Fire Brigade (LFB) responded to in the first two weeks of August, while on Friday around 50 firefighters were called to a blaze that burnt two hectares of grass at Leyton Flats Park near Whipps Cross . Road. Such was the extent of the dry conditions that the LFB responded to eight times more grass and open ground fires in the first week of August compared to the same week last year.
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Fire crews were also called to blazes in Canvey Island and Harlow, Essex, while in Kent, firefighters spent Saturday tackling flames that had ripped through ten hectares of land on Dartford Heath. Other fires were reported in Lincolnshire, West Midlands, Wiltshire and Dorset, where emergency crews reported a 492 per cent increase in the number of incidents in August compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, runners struggled in the heat, with four taken to hospital after collapsing during a half-marathon race at Richmond Park on Sunday. A search is ongoing for a swimmer who got into trouble in the Thames near Hampton Court Bridge on Sunday afternoon. The Met Office has issued a thunderstorm warning from 10am on Monday. “Thunderstorms are likely to develop into Monday, bringing torrential rain in some places and possible disruption,” he warned. Britons can expect flash flooding which could cause road closures, travel delays and possibly power cuts. “There is a small chance that homes and businesses will be quickly flooded, with some buildings damaged by flooding, lightning, hail or strong winds,” the Weather Service said. Temperatures are expected to drop to 28 degrees on Monday in London, 25 degrees on Tuesday and 23 degrees on Wednesday. England needs “weeks of rain” to end the drought affecting many parts of the country, experts warn. Eight regions in the UK have been placed under drought conditions: Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and south London, Hertfordshire and north London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and the east Midlands.
