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UK Protesters Decry Climate Change After Record Heat Wave
(CTN News) – After record-breaking temperatures scorched the UK this week, protesters took to the streets in London and Glasgow to demand faster action against climate change.
Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain led protesters in a sit-in on Parliament Square in London to demand the Conservative government stop giving new licenses for oil and gas production, tax big polluters, and help people install energy-efficient heating.
The extreme heat wave on Tuesday was a warning about what we will face as the climate collapses – thousands of deaths, homes lost to wildfires, and emergency services stretched to breaking point.
The Met Office recorded 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in the UK on Tuesday, the highest temperature ever recorded in a country ill-prepared for such extreme heat.
Summers in the UK are usually quite mild, and few homes, schools, or small businesses have air conditioning.
Major train networks were paralyzed, airport runways were damaged, and 15 fire departments declared major incidents. Since World War II, Tuesday was the busiest day for firefighters in London.
Climate activists staged a “die-in” protest in Glasgow to demand urgent action. The protesters were covered in white sheets with the “causes of death” including heat stress, famine and water scarcity.
“We have been warning about the global climate emergency for years,” said Wolf Saanen, 39. “Is anyone listening now that it has reached our shores?”
It has been warned that climate groups will stage more disruptive demonstrations in the autumn.
As the weather turns colder, households are expected to be further squeezed by soaring energy bills amid a soaring cost-of-living crisis.
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