Sadiq Khan has urged Londoners to stop having barbecues, even in private gardens and even in cooler weather today, due to the alarming risk of fires.
The London mayor said 41 properties across the capital were destroyed yesterday including homes and warehouses as temperatures smashed records in England.
Mr Khan told Sky News: “Yesterday was the busiest day for the fire service in London since the Second World War.”
The Labour politician said yesterday London’s fire services took more than 2,600 calls - up from 500 on a busy day.
Urging Londoners not to have barbecues he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “A number of these fires are grass fires. The problem is we’ve not had rain in the entire month of July in London.
“The grass is like hay, which means it's easier to catch fire. Once it catches, fire spreads incredibly fast like wildfires, like you see in movies or in fires in California and parts of France.
“My advice today is again, not to have barbecues - of course not on balconies, of course not in parks, nor in your private garden.
“I’ve just spoken to the Fire Commissioner. He's still concerned about the ground being dry, and the speed of fire spreading.
“And the additional problem in London, because we're a global city, is there are properties that impinge on the grass.
“So you’re seeing yesterday those homes, those properties destroyed - more than 41 properties destroyed.
“Because unlike the national parks, or you know, in the Moors, we have properties that impinge on these pieces of grass.”
Asked if he was saying barbecues were off across the entire capital until some heavy rain he replied: “The fire service will review their advice later on today.
“But the advice today is definitely no barbecues.
“What we do know from yesterday, is also the combination of glass and bottles in the park magnifying rays leading to flames beginning and spreading incredibly fast.
“And so yeah, the advice today is whilst we have this dry weather, whilst the ground is incredibly dry, like tinder, no barbecues please.”
He told Sky News climate change was the “elephant in the room” in the Tory leadership contest.
“One of the consequences of climate change are these sorts of temperatures which lead to the sorts of fires you see behind you,” he said.
Sixteen firefighters were injured fighting fires in the capital on the hottest day of the year, with two admitted to hospital, according to London Fire Brigade (LFB).
Dozens of trains were cancelled or delayed across England on Wednesday morning because of problems caused by the extreme heat.
Temperatures hit 40C on Tuesday, the hottest on record in the UK, causing damage to overhead wires, tracks, and signalling systems.
National Rail has told customers to check before setting off on their journeys and to only travel if absolutely necessary.
Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News that the fires were a "warning sign" about the impact of climate change.
"This is a reminder today I think of the importance of tackling climate change.
"This is a remarkable, unprecedented event and something which obviously, because people have been saying, we are not used to seeing in this country.
"What we've seen in recent days is not normal and it is a warning sign."
