Heatwave: National emergency declared after UK's first red extreme heat warning
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62177458
A national emergency has been declared after a red extreme heat warning was issued for the first time, as temperatures could hit 40C (104F).
The Met Office's highest warning covers an area including London, Manchester and York on Monday and Tuesday.
It means there is a risk to life and daily routines will need to change.
Speed restrictions are likely on railway lines, some schools will close early and some hospital appointments will be cancelled.
On the roads, gritters are planning to spread sand to reduce melting, and the RAC has warned more drivers will need help as cars overheat.
In more no s**t Sherlock advice it warns you should “walk in the shade and wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-coloured cotton clothes”, while your hat should be “wide-brimmed, to reduce exposure to the face, eyes, head and neck”.
We are further instructed “to avoid extreme physical exertion”, so that’s a no to any imitations of Love Island on the beach or in the bedroom.
Alcohol, tea and coffee are also to be avoided in this crisis.
“We’re all doomed” was the cry of Private James Frazer in Dad’s Army and the same bleak spirit infuses official advice.
“Even during a relatively cool summer, one in five homes is likely to overheat,” says the Agency.
Some of the instructions are so absurd that they seem to have been designed for congenital idiots.
“Turn off central heating,” says one sentence.
“Take a break from the heat by moving to a cooler room,” says another.
Well blow me down with an industrial fan.
It is amazing that we ever won a World War or built the largest empire the planet has ever seen, much of its territory in far hotter climes than anything currently being experienced in Britain.
The bureaucrats are determined to treat us like children, where anything enjoyable is treated as a threat.
So, when it comes to swimming, the Agency declares, “Always wear a buoyancy aid or life jacket for activities on the water” and, “Only enter the water in areas with adequate supervision and rescue cover”
An atmosphere of terror is being wilfully created.
Bureaucratic hysteria
News outlets sternly report that Cobra meetings have been called in Whitehall to discuss whether a National Heatwave Emergency should be declared.
Speed restrictions have been imposed on parts of the rail network and some local authorities warn that bins will not be emptied in the heat.
In my own county of Kent, the director of public health, Dr Anjan Ghosh, said it is “vital people think carefully about what they need to do to protect themselves, their family and particularly vulnerable people from the heat”.
The mood of bureaucratic hysteria is partly a legacy of Covid, when the state became used to controlling our lives in the name of public safety.
Having been given enormous powers and funding during the pandemic, the agencies are keen to flex their muscles once more.
https://www.thesun.c...eather-warning/
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 July 2022 - 09:28 AM.