UN chief warns London is ‘cooking’ amid unprecedented heatwave

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The United Nations chief has warned that London is ‘cooking’ while issuing a sobering reminder of the dangers of fossil fuels.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres referenced Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale Of Two Cities in a major address at London Climate Action Week as the capital swelters in a severe heatwave.

‘Crisis brings clarity and here in London – the city of Dickens – it is clear that our world is facing a ‘tale of two crises’,’ he added.

‘A climate crisis is pushing us deeper towards higher temperatures and closer to catastrophic tipping points, and an energy crisis is exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons.

Temperatures are expected to smash the June record set in 1976 by several degrees as human-driven climate change intensifies the impact of a heat dome settling over western Europe.

The arrival of the El Niño warming weather phenomenon this summer risks ‘blowing the house down’ as it compounds the escalating impacts.

Guterres’ speech comes amid market volatility because of the ongoing Iran War, which has caused fossil fuel prices to surge.

Both crises demand the ‘same answer’, he said: ‘A fast, fair transition to clean energy and a surge in adaptation, resilience and climate justice for those already facing climate harm.’

A red weather warning for extreme heat covering an area stretching from London to Swansea and Somerset to Birmingham was issued by the Met Office from 9am on Wednesday to 9pm on Thursday.

The temperature could come close to the UK’s all-time high of 40.3C which was measured in July 2022.