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Protesters in UK decry climate change after record heat wave

LONDON (AP) – Protesters turned out on Saturday on the streets of London and in the Scottish city of Glasgow to demand faster action against climate change following the record-smashing temperatures that scorched the United Kingdom (UK) this week.

Activist groups including Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain led protesters in a sit-in on Parliament Square in London to demand that the Conservative government stop giving new licences for oil and gas production, tax big polluters and help people install more energy efficient heating in their homes.

“Tuesday’s extreme heat wave 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,” said Indigo Rumbelow from Just Stop Oil. “We are so unprepared for extreme heat and it’s only going to get worse.”

The UK’s Met Office weather agency recorded 40.3 degrees Celsius in England last Tuesday, the highest-ever temperature registered in a country ill-prepared for such extreme heat.

British summers are usually quite moderate and few homes, schools or small businesses have air-conditioning.

The heat wave paralysed major train networks, damaged airport runways and saw 15 fire departments across the country declaring major incidents.

The London Fire Brigade said that last Tuesday was the busiest day for firefighters since World War II.

In Glasgow, climate activists staged a “die-in” protest to demand urgent action to tackle climate change. Protesters laid on the ground in one of the city’s busiest shopping areas, covered in white sheets with “causes of death” including heat stress, famine and water scarcity.

Members of environmental groups including Just Stop Oil, the Peace and Justice Project and Insulate Britain take part in a mass protest in Parliament Square, London. PHOTO: AP
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