FIERY FEBRUARY!
Winnie the Pooh wood ablaze as temperature hits record 21.2C
ORANGE flames soar into the sky in a forest made famous by Winnie the Pooh – on the warmest winter’s day since records began.
Firefighters battled a blaze in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, yesterday as unprecedented February weather saw fires break out around the country.
Two started within an hour of each other in Ashdown – which inspired Hundred Acre Wood in A A Milne’s children’s classic Winnie the Pooh.
Firefighters said more than 35 hectares of the wood – the size of 35 rugby pitches – were engulfed and 65 officers battled the flames.
It came as temperature records were broken for the second time in two days when the mercury hit 21.2C (70.16F) at Kew Gardens in south-west London. It was the first time a temperature of more than 21C (70F) has been recorded in Britain in the winter months of December, January and February. Elsewhere, a gorse fire set light to a hillside in north Wales and arsonists were blamed for another gorse blaze at The Lizard in Cornwall. Firefighters also tackled a major blaze on moorland near Blacko, Lancashire.
Normally in February, moorland areas are soaking wet and boggy, but grass, gorse and heather have dried out due to a lack of rain in the past fortnight.
The warm sunshine in Britain yesterday contrasted with cloudy conditions around the Mediterranean. Rome was just 14C (57F) and Malaga on Spain’s Costa del Sol was 16C (61F). More very mild and sunny weather is expected for the UK today but temperatures are due to reach only a maximum of 19C (66F) in south- east England and 16C (61F) elsewhere.
Forecasters say the very warm spell is now coming to an end, with wet and windy conditions set to sweep in for the weekend.
Based on figures up to Monday, this month has been the fifth warmest February since records began in 1910 – averaging 9.6C (49.2F) a day. The record is 10.3C (50.5F), set in 1998. The February record was first broken on Monday, when Trawsgoed in west Wales, reached 20.3C (68.5F). This beat the previous highest figure of 19.7C (67.4F) in Greenwich, southeast London, in 1998.
The warm weather is bringing animals, including hedgehogs, out of hibernation, and the RSPB says it has received reports of birds attempting to nest and breed.
Meanwhile air pollution warnings have been issued for much of Britain due to the settled weather trapping noxious fumes. The problem has been worsened by pollution brought north from Europe and Africa with the flow of warm air. Experts said Saharan dust particles have been detected at high levels in the atmosphere.
Yesterday morning air quality in London was on a par with Beijing, one of the most polluted cities in the world, according to internet service AirVisual.