Fire warning as new heatwave builds in tinder-dry conditions

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Help us protect farmland and natural habitats by not lighting barbecues, fires and other potentially hazardous materials such as sky lanterns Mark Tufnell, CLA The organisation’s president, Mark Tufnell said: “The CLA is demanding that retailers immediately ban the sale of disposable barbecues across the UK this summer in a move to curb fires spreading in the countryside which cause great damage to rural communities and businesses and jeopardise the safety of all those in the surrounding areas. “But we ask them to help us protect farmland and natural habitats by not lighting barbecues, fires and other potentially hazardous materials such as sky lanterns.” The calls come as the Met Office is forecasting another week of sweltering weather for some parts – although the UK is not expected to see the record-breaking temperatures of July’s heatwave, where thermometers topped 40C for the first time. We would expect to see continued impacts on agriculture and the environment in addition to further pressures on water supplies, with the possibility of further restrictions UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Low rainfall in July has left river flows in central, southern and eastern England, and eastern Scotland, below normal – with many seeing “exceptionally” low levels of water flowing in them, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said. Lucy Barker, a hydrological analyst at UKCEH, said: “Current forecasts suggest that dry and warm weather will continue for southern Britain through the first half of August, and hydrological forecasts suggest below normal river flows in southern Britain are likely to persist over the next few months, with exceptionally low flows likely in many catchments.