Parts of England and Wales face an “exceptional” risk of wildfires as an amber heat warming comes into place. The Met Office has raised the Fire Severity Index to exceptional – the highest level – for much of southern England, and stretching as far west as Abergavenny in Wales, for this coming Sunday (August 14).
Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna told the PA news agency that the risk of wildfires was very high. He said: “The risk is very high across much of central, southern and eastern England.
“Going into Friday and the weekend, it starts to increase further, going into the highest category of exceptional risk.” Mark Hardingham, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) told The Telegraph that he “can’t remember a summer like this” in his entire 32-year career in the fire service.
