Anaïs Cordoba (special correspondent in London), edited by Ophélie Artaud
modified to
9:01 p.m., July 19, 2022
England experienced unprecedented temperatures on Tuesday, with more than 40 degrees recorded in London. A violent fire affected the village of Wennington where several houses were destroyed and other fires took place around the capital. A situation that worries the English, unaccustomed to such a rise in mercury.
France is not the only one to be affected by terrible fires, amplified by scorching temperatures. This Tuesday, a fire also hits England in Wennington, a village east of London. The mercury has reached unprecedented temperatures across the Channel: more than 40 degrees in London.
A dozen fires around the capital
If the situation was under control this Tuesday evening, a hundred firefighters with dozens of trucks were deployed in the area. They are still on site to prevent a new outbreak of fire. The fire started earlier this afternoon around meadows and several buildings in this village of 300 inhabitants.
Several houses seem to have been destroyed, others are badly damaged. So far, no casualties have been reported. Because of the heat, a dozen smaller fires took place around the capital this afternoon. In all, several hundred firefighters are mobilized. The Mayor of London has declared a major incident.
“I did not expect to see this in London”
In the streets of the city center, these fires worry. “I didn’t expect to see that in London. I saw that it was happening in Spain and France, it’s already close to home. But there, it’s scary. I hope we’ll get to act collectively to remedy this”, underlines a passerby.
A record temperature of 40.2 degrees was recorded near Heathrow Airport this afternoon. This heat wave also caused train cancellations in the capital and many unrest. The ambulance service currently receives 400 calls per hour.