© SWNS
A huge field containing crops has gone up in flames in Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Farmers have been rocked by burning crops, while grass is on fire in locations around Britain. Emergency services have warned of wildfires, advising the public not to use barbeques or leave litter which could spark fires in the countryside. Meanwhile, open leisure areas, including zoos and wildlife parks, are closed to protect animals, staff and visitors.

Fires are currently burning in:

  • Derbyshire
  • Essex
  • South Yorkshire
  • West Midlands
  • North Wales
  • South West Wales
  • Newcastle
  • Reading
  • Kent
  • Norfolk
A large field in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was on fire today as temperatures in the area passed 37C degrees.


Comment: Parts of France have seen similar temperatures for many weeks now, on top of a 6 month drought, so it's unlikely that the temperature is solely to blame. Moreover, whilst wildfires and gorse fires do happen during summertime in the UK, and particularly during droughts, crop fires don't seem to be in the news as often as they have been recently.


Fire crews rushed to the scene to extinguish the blaze, with pictures showing a large area of the crops destroyed.

Crews are pictured wading between thick grass and crops, trying to control the flames. Drone pictures show large swathes of a field completely burnt out.

In Doncaster, a grassland fire broke out at around 1.40pm today.

Crews and nine fire engines were called to the scene as the flames are approaching a residential area.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "Please avoid Repton Road, Skellow. We know it's hard - but we're also asking people living nearby to shut windows and doors for their own safety."

crop field fire
© Essex Fire Service / SWNS
Teams from Essex County Fire Service are currently battling the blaze at the isolated depot
A major fire at a recycling centre in Bocking, Essex, was also reported earlier today.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement: "Our control room received more than 60 calls to this incident. The fire is producing lots of smoke, please avoid the area and if you live nearby, please keep your windows and doors shut.

"Six on-call crews were called to a recycling centre in Bocking between Convent Lane and the A131 at Marks Farm.

"On arrival, crews reported that approximately 600 tonnes of waste clothing is alight.

"Crews are working to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby woodland and are working to extinguish the fire in sections.

"Please avoid the area while we deal with this incident."

Leading forecaster the Met Office had warned the country's infrastructure was not cut out for such temperatures as part of its extreme heat warning issued last Friday.


Comment: That may be true, but heatwaves such as this aren't unprecedented, similar temperatures have been recorded in previous decades. However, it may be that upkeep of at least some of this infrastructure has been seriously neglected and it's only now, during this heatwave, that we're seeing the result of that neglect.

Note that the ignition source for a number of these fires, at the time of reporting, was unknown.


Scientists predicted temperatures could reach 40C as a result of climate change, warning the figure "could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence".

Climate change, which has pushed average global temperatures up by around 1.2C and caused drier soils, is making heatwaves longer, more intense and more likely.


Comment: These heatwaves aren't a result of the establishment's version of climate change; as Cap Allon explicates in Is Australia experiencing a 'volcanic winter'?
And so it stands, while the mainstream media assigns all of its ink to a Western European heatwave -a phenomenon linked to low solar activity, namely its weakening of the jet stream the entire Southern Hemisphere -and the planet overall- is experiencing exceptional cooling-as are the Tropics, which recently experienced their coolest June in 22 years.



According to the Met Office's fire severity index, which is a map detailing the risk of wild fires breaking out across the country, Derbyshire is under an amber alert, which means it is at a "very high risk."