We must take this heatwave seriously – even if the prime minister won’t

Editorial: A man with little to lose, Johnson has placed pleasure before duty, and skipped the Cobra meeting called to coordinate the response to the crisis

The heat spike is an unavoidable reminder of the unpredictable effects of climate change (PA)

Unaccustomed as the British are to such hot weather, the heatwave will undoubtedly bring with it an unwelcome increase in sunstroke and heat exhaustion. It is only to be expected.

It is an unprecedented phenomenon in modern times (no doubt when dinosaurs roamed Surrey it was situation normal), and there’s a natural tendency to get out and enjoy it while it lasts. Before very much longer, of course, the inhabitants of the UK will be shivering in their poorly insulated Victorian terraces and inter-war mock Tudor semis in fear of the gas bill.

Like so many going lobster red in the sun, the prime minister does not seem worried about the heat wave. A man with little to lose, he has placed pleasure before duty, and skipped the Cobra meeting called to coordinate the response to the crisis – just as he did in the early stages of the pandemic.