The hottest temperature ever recorded in Britain makes the focal point of several front pages on a day when the heatwave triggered wildfires, people were urged to save water, and experts warned that we can expect more extreme heat in years to come.
The Mirror’s splash headline says “40C Britain’s burning” across a dramatic aerial picture of houses on fire in the village of Wennington on the eastern outskirts of London. A strap line across the top of the front page says “Hottest day in history”.
Wednesday's Mirror: 40C Britain's Burning #TomorrowsPapersToday #DailyMirror #Mirror pic.twitter.com/QAkbLpmHJt
— Tomorrows Papers Today (@TmorrowsPapers) July 19, 2022
The Metro picks out the record temperature of 40.3C in flaming orange and has the headline “Burning hot Britain”.
Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰
— Metro (@MetroUK) July 19, 2022
40.3C BURNING HOT BRITAIN
🔴 Inferno mayhem as temperatures hit a record high
🔴 Homes torched with motorists dodging flames #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/LmVenDxO7X
The Sun simply says “Hellfire” over the top of a similar picture and says the heatwave “brings UK to standstill”, but also adds at the bottom “now bring on the rain” with some showers and storms forecast in the next 24 hours.
Tomorrow's front page: Wildfires force terrified families from their homes on the hottest UK day on record https://t.co/MeOIIlNfB7 pic.twitter.com/WBOKpMhQ5v
— The Sun (@TheSun) July 19, 2022
The Guardian uses the burning houses on its front page as well and its splash headline reads: “‘A wakeup call’: UK hits highest ever temperature”, with a warning from scientists that action is needed urgently to mitigate the impact of climate change on the UK.
Guardian front page, Wednesday 20 July 2022: 'A wake-up call': UK hits highest ever temperature pic.twitter.com/oCs2VpEcHp
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 19, 2022
“Britain ignites as temperatures break 40C barrier for first time” says the Telegraph, which also uses the burning houses as its main image.
The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 19, 2022
'Britain ignites as temperatures break 40C barrier for first time'#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4O6L2Y pic.twitter.com/HM8I5acQNb
In a change of tone picked up by several observers on social media, the Mail has the headline “Nightmare of the wildfires”. It comes after its “snowflake Britain” headline the previous day. It still does not see the heatwave as the main story though, instead going with the latest in the Tory leadership race: “Truss allies warn: no dirty backroom deals”.
Wednesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/zmXxNNU89R
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) July 19, 2022
The Times also sees the Tory machinations as the top story with the lead reading “Truss closing on Mordaunt”. A so-called “hamper” story across the top of the page says “Record high of 40.3C sparks wildfires in tinderbox Britain”, and it also promotes a feature on the “summer’s best (grown-up) swimsuits”.
TIMES: @trussliz closing on @PennyMordaunt #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/3ReE9A32xg
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) July 19, 2022
The Express says “Britain burns in 40.3C heat” but its lead is also the Conservative race and it – like the Mail – appears to be favouring Liz Truss with the gushing headline: “Surging Truss: you can trust me to be bold and cut bills”.
Tomorrow's front page: Surging Truss: You can trust me to be bold and cut bills #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/ZYSjChR0vT pic.twitter.com/t2us9Rrq82
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) July 19, 2022
The i says “Tinderbox UK ignites at record 40.3C” whilst also reporting that “Jubilant Truss revives her campaign to become PM”.
I: Tinderbox Uk ignites #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/LtTalpDEHS
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) July 19, 2022
It was also very hot in Scotland, the Daily Record notes, with a new record high of 34.5C set in Charterhall in the Borders. “Britain’s burning” the splash says.
DAILY RECORD: Britain’s Burning #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/9QsSzuy1vQ
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) July 19, 2022
The Financial Times has a picture story to report the weather – “Burning Britain: Houses blaze in record heat” – but its lead is “ECB and BoE follow Fed lead with signal of more hawkish rate rises”
Just published: front page of the Financial Times, international edition, Wednesday 20 July https://t.co/7ImJzxWo3q pic.twitter.com/SXuESGgLWe
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) July 19, 2022
