Key events

Campaigners, scientists question why PM Burnham is reluctant to speak about the climate crisis

Harriet Richards
Assistant environment editor

On Thursday UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband posted a stark message on Instagram warning that climate breakdown is a national security threat to British people.

He promised to work with countries around the world to tackle global heating, adding:

“I feel this so deeply. We owe it to future generations to act. Our planet is sending us a warning signal and we are going to listen.”

Meanwhile people are asking why prime minister Andy Burnham is so reluctant to talk about the climate crisis, the effects of which are raging around the country.

Police footage shows scale of New Forest wildfire

Sandra Laville, our environment correspondent, writes today:

“From the first day Andy Burnham came into office, climate scientists, campaigners and some of the ordinary people surviving through this summer of extreme heat began to wonder when he would start to talk about the climate crisis.

Up until this week, many held back from criticism. After all, he had only been in power for a couple weeks; it felt far too early to start to judge and call him out on it.

But as we watched the footage of terrified horses galloping over cindering heathland in the New Forest while yet another wildfire took hold, it no longer felt too soon to wonder.

Now people are asking aloud: why is Burnham ignoring what is in front of his face – the devastating impact of climate breakdown on the country and its citizens?”

150 million people in Europe to experience temperatures of 35C and above today

While the temperatures might be slightly dropping in the UK today, it’s not really the case elsewhere as still some 150 million people in Europe are going to experience temperatures of 35C or above today, an AFP analysis showed.

Temperatures are set to surpass 30C for around three out of five European residents (excluding Turkey), amounting to around 350 million people, AFP said.

That’s a lot.

Seven people with life-threatening injuries after Croatia fire, as number of injured goes up to 36

Menawhile, the number of people injured in the Croatian fire has gone up to 36, with about 1,000 people also evacuated (9:36).

14 people were hospitalised, and seven have life-threatening injuries, Reuters said.

A general view of a wildfire near Omiš, southern Croatia early Friday. Photograph: Jakov Prkic/AP

“Everything flared ‌up in a ​second,” Goran Lović, ​the owner of a cafe near where the fire broke out in Lokva Rogoznica, told the Jutarnji List newspaper. “It just happened all of a sudden, there was an open flame in the part where there is a forest and no houses.”

Most of the affected people are believed to be tourists, with many people missing documents and documentations, the local Red Cross said.

““I haven’t experienced anything like this in 15 years,” Tomislav Gojo of the Split Red Cross told Jutarnij List.

1,800 people evacuated overnight as German wildfire spreads

Around 1,800 people had to leave their homes in western Germany overnight as a wildfire spread nearby, officials said Friday, with helicopters and army equipment deployed to help battle the flames, AFP reported.

A district of the town of Hürtgenwald near the Belgian and Dutch borders was evacuated after the fire expanded from 25 hectares (around 60 acres) to 300 hectares by Friday morning.

Thick smoke drifts over the Gey district from a forest fire in Hürtgenwald, Germany. Photograph: Federico Gambarini/DPA/AP

PM Burnham offers thanks to firefighters tackling West Midlands blaze

UK prime minister Andy Burnham also responded to the wildfire in West Midlands, saying his thoughts are with everyone affected.

“I’m in touch with local leaders like [West Midlands Mayor] Richard Parker and will be speaking to emergency services on the ground as they continue their response.

Our firefighters are working in incredibly difficult conditions and putting themselves at risk to keep others safe. A huge thank you to them and everyone supporting the effort tonight.”

He added:

“Please stay safe and follow their advice.”

Firefighters inspect a burnt-out house following a large grass fire which spread to several homes yesterday during the hottest day of the year, in Stourbridge, West Midlands. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters

'Extensive' devastation caused by 'one of the most significant' incidents West Midlands Fire Service faced

The latest from West Midlands is that fire crews are making progress tackling huge blazes that led to thousands of 999 calls and caused “extensive” devastation, a fire chief said, as reported by PA.

An aerial view shows burnt houses as the wildfire continues to spread to the golf course in Stourbridge, England. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Chief fire officer Simon Tuhill, of West Midlands Fire Service, said one huge blaze in Stourbridge, which forced some people to flee after it started tearing through homes, was “one of the most significant” incidents the region’s fire service has ever dealt with.

An update from West Midlands Fire Service on Friday morning said crews were “making progress” and “tactically working across several different areas of the site”.

Morning opening: This is too much

A child and three firefighters were taken to hospital following the wildfire in Stourbridge as England once again joined a long – and growing – list of countries battling active fires during this year’s extraordinarily extremely hot summer.

With the hottest day of the year recorded in England on Thursday, the temperatures are expected to start to fall, but just slightly, on Friday, with low to mid 30s expected.

An aerial view shows burnt houses as the wildfire continues to spread to the golf course in Stourbridge, England. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Across the channel, France is also expecting another hot day after temperatures of up to 41C on Thursday. Over 500 people were evacuated from the southwestern Landes region.

A firefighter hoses down the charred ground as flames continue to burn in the Landes forest in Luglon, southwestern France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP/Getty Images

Over in Greece, hundreds of tourists were evacuated from the popular hotspot of Halkidiki, as firefighters continue to fight a large blaze amid gale-force winds.

Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire fanned by strong winds near the resort of Siviri on the Halkidiki peninsula, Greece. Photograph: Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters

At least 19 people were also injured in a fire near the Croatian tourist town of Omiš, with two people requiring hospitalisation in the popular city of Split.

I will bring you all the updates during the day. Stay safe, and drink plenty of water.

It’s Friday, 14 August 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.