Protesters in UK decry climate change after record heat wave
Source: AP
By SYLVIA HUI
LONDON (AP) — Protesters turned out Saturday on the streets of London and in the Scottish city of Glasgow to demand faster action against climate change following the record-smashing temperatures that scorched the U.K. this week.
Activist groups including Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain led protesters in a sit-in on Parliament Square in London to demand that the Conservative government stop giving new licenses for oil and gas production, tax big polluters and help people install more energy efficient heating in their homes.
“Tuesday’s extreme heatwave was a warning about what we will face as the climate collapses –- thousands of deaths, homes lost to wildfires and emergency services stretched to breaking point,” said Indigo Rumbelow from Just Stop Oil. “We are so unprepared for extreme heat and it’s only going to get worse.”
The U.K.’s Met Office weather agency recorded 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in England on Tuesday, the highest-ever temperature registered in a country ill-prepared for such extreme heat. British summers are usually quite moderate and few homes, schools or small businesses have air-conditioning.
Members of environmental groups including Just Stop Oil, the Peace and Justice Project and Insulate Britain take part in a mass protest in Parliament Square, London. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/london-england-glasgow-c17bae08468767664e6d72edf5b8cc43
