UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled that the UK government could move to restrict disposable barbecues as authorities confront a growing wildfire threat driven by prolonged drought, extreme temperatures and increasingly dry conditions across England and Wales.
According to Andy Burnham,the government is “certainly going to consider” a ban on disposable barbecues after concerns that single-use grills had contributed to a number of recent fires.
With nearly three-quarters of England and all of Wales officially under drought conditions, exceptionally dry vegetation and farmland have created a landscape increasingly prone to rapidly spreading wildfires.
The Met Office has also issued a rare amber extreme heat warning covering Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-to-high 30s across parts of the Midlands and south-east England.
Temperatures could climb as high as 38C in some areas, adding further pressure to emergency services, farmers, health workers and communities already dealing with the effects of prolonged heat.
Speaking during a visit to Stevenage ahead of an emergency Cobra meeting on the government’s response to record temperatures in recent months, Burnham indicated that the government wanted people to exercise particular caution when spending time outdoors, warning that disposable barbecues and cigarettes could pose a significant fire risk in the current conditions.
“I do want to leave the meeting today with a loud and clear message that we do want people to take the greatest possible care when they are out in the countryside, both in terms of cigarettes, but also those temporary barbecues that we know are causing risk of fires.”
Andy Burnham
Burnham did not clarify whether the government was considering a temporary prohibition on the sale of disposable barbecues, a restriction on their use in public spaces, or a broader national ban.
However, his comments come amid mounting pressure for tougher measures as firefighters confront what officials describe as an increasingly serious wildfire threat.
Some retailers have already voluntarily stopped selling disposable barbecues, while campaigners and politicians have urged other businesses to follow suit during the summer period.
The issue has gained urgency following a record month for wildfire responses. Fire crews attended 393 wildfires across England and Wales in July, making it the busiest month on record and reinforcing warnings that extreme fires are becoming a more persistent feature of the country’s risk landscape.
Fire Chiefs have warned that wildfires are becoming a “recurring and growing feature of the risks facing our communities” as the effects of a changing climate combine with prolonged periods of hot and dry weather.
The effects are not limited to rural areas. In addition to endangering homes and businesses, wildfires can harm agricultural land, interfere with transportation systems, and put further strain on emergency services. Additionally, smoke can deteriorate the quality of the air and pose health hazards, especially to those who are already at risk.
The emergency Cobra meeting chaired by Burnham is designed to coordinate the government’s response to the continuing heat and drought conditions and assess the risks facing public health, agriculture, emergency services and the wider economy.
A No 10 spokesperson revealed that the government recognised the significant pressures being placed on firefighters, farmers and NHS staff by the extreme weather.
The meeting will be the first Cobra session on the heatwave response to be chaired by Burnham since he became Prime Minister, although officials had already held a similar meeting earlier in the year.
Calls Grow for Stronger Wildfire Response
UK government has already taken steps to strengthen wildfire preparedness before the latest escalation in temperatures. In June, under former Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, were the government announced that specialist firefighters would be positioned at key locations across England because of heightened wildfire risks.
Fire services were also encouraged to use government funding to upgrade equipment and improve their ability to respond to major outdoor fires.
But pressure on the government has continued to grow as the drought has spread and fire crews have faced unprecedented demand.
The Green Party has criticised the government’s response, with leader Zack Polanski accusing Burnham of failing to act quickly enough in the face of threats to public health and food supplies.
The party has called for more publicly accessible “cool spaces” where vulnerable people can escape extreme temperatures, as well as financial support to help households adapt their homes to hotter conditions.
For vulnerable groups, including older people, those with underlying health risks and individuals unable to afford cooling measures, prolonged high temperatures can create serious health pressures.
The pressure is compounded when emergency services must respond simultaneously to multiple fires in different locations. That has strengthened calls for greater emphasis on prevention rather than relying solely on firefighting capacity after fires have already started.
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