The heatwave may be over but Truss and Sunak cannot afford to ignore the climate crisis

Editorial: Neither has set out their views on global heating in their daily policy announcements; regrettably, they seem more interested in their media grid than the national grid

We would be living in a fool’s paradise if we were to dismiss the heatwaves, and the drought officially declared in large parts of England, as freak events (EPA)

Although the UK’s second heatwave in a month may be drawing to a close, the country cannot take its eye off the unmistakable cause of the extreme weather events we are experiencing faster and with greater intensity than many climate scientists had predicted – the man-made climate crisis.

We would be living in a fool’s paradise if we were to dismiss the heatwaves, and the drought officially declared in large parts of England, as freak events unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. Scientists at the Met Office believe the UK could experience temperatures above 40C every three years. Around the world, land and ocean heatwaves, drought, wildfires, storms, rain and flooding have all been made more severe or likely by human-caused heating, according to Carbon Brief.

Sky-high temperatures are hitting energy output from fossil, nuclear and solar sources; the technology works less well in high temperatures, compounding the crisis in energy supplies across Europe caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The shortages undoubtedly reinforce the case for much greater investment in solar, wind and tidal power. Yet, sadly, some politicians prefer to argue we will need fossil fuels, including North Sea oil, to play a bigger role than expected during the transition to “net zero”.