
Plea from Bristol bin collection teams as weather heats up
Bristol residents are being asked to leave their bins out earlier this week due to the forecasted hot weather.Bristol Waste Company is urging people to get their rubbish and recycling bins out before 05:00 BST on Tuesday.It said starting earlier would help its teams get a "head start on the heat" and "keep them safe".A spokesperson from Bristol Waste Company said: "Thank you for your patience, we appreciate your support in keeping our crews, you and your neighbours safe."
What are UV levels and how can you protect yourself? How to sleep in the heat How do heat health alerts work? How does sunscreen work and what does SPF mean? When is a heatwave 'really' a heatwave?
The UK Health Security Agency has extended heat health alerts in place across England.Amber alerts covering the South West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London and South East will now remain in place until 09:00 BST on Wednesday.Health alerts serve to warn the public and provide guidance for NHS England, the government and healthcare professionals.
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BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Hundreds join fight to save Walton-on-Thames Bowling Club
More than 500 people have signed a petition opposing plans to replace an historic bowling club in Surrey with a new health Borough Council could sell part of the Walton-on-Thames Bowling Club to make way for the new facility, which would replace the town's community local authority called it a "once in a generation" chance to bring state-of-the-art health facilities to the town, but campaigners said the plans would erase years of history and the tight-knit community around the club. Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been asked to respond. A petition was launched two weeks ago in the hope of persuading North West Surrey NHS bosses to drop their plans to transform the site, the Local Democracy Reporting Service say the hub should be built as an extension to the existing Gregor Macgregor, also a campaigner, said: "Almost 80% of the people asked to sign have signed."People really want to keep our hospital and not lose our bowls club."Members of the council's cabinet have robustly defended potentially selling the site, which has been occupied by the bolwing club since said not selling to the NHS would be a "dereliction of duty".The hub would include seven additional services, including mental health support, complex-wound care and maternity the Elm Grove sale does not go ahead, the NHS investment will not be used elsewhere in the borough.


The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why is the UK experiencing a heatwave and what can people do in response?
Temperatures are set to climb to as high as 35C in the latest heatwave to hit parts of the UK. So what is causing it and what are the impacts? – What is causing the heatwave? The UK is on the edge of a 'heat dome' currently sitting over continental Europe which has pushed temperatures to extreme highs in places such as Spain, Italy and Greece. Dr Akshay Deoras, from the University of Reading, says the heat dome, an area of high pressure currently centred on Denmark, with the UK on its western edge, is 'bringing stable, mostly cloudless weather and drawing in hot, dry air from the south'. Dr Michael Byrne, reader in climate science at the University of St Andrews, said heat domes, which occur when high pressure weather systems that normally last a few days get stuck in place for a week or more, are 'nothing new'. But they and other scientists are clear that climate change – caused by human activity such as burning fossil fuels – is making heatwaves more frequent and intense. – So what is the role of climate change in heatwaves? Put simply, the Earth has warmed significantly since pre-industrial times due to humans putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which trap more heat. When hot conditions occur on top of that background warming, for example during a heat dome situation, they are hotter than they would be without it, while it also means heatwaves occur more frequently. So while Dr Byrne says there is nothing new about heat domes, 'what is new are the temperatures heat domes deliver: Europe is more than 2C warmer than in pre-industrial times, so when a heat dome occurs it drives a hotter heatwave', he says. Dr Ben Clarke, research associate in extreme weather and climate change at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, says that without climate change, the UK would still experience periods of fine, warm weather in June – but the hotter atmosphere means that 'fine' weather is now very hot. 'In short, climate change is making 'nice' weather more dangerous, and already dangerous weather more deadly,' he warned. – How do we know climate change is making heatwaves hotter and more frequent? Scientists have conducted numerous 'attribution' studies to assess the role of climate change in extreme weather such as heatwaves, comparing the current conditions with what would have happened in a world without global warming. For example in the summer of 2022, when temperatures smashed through the 40C mark for the first time on record in the UK, scientists found it would have been 'almost impossible' without global warming. Most recently, the same World Weather Attribution group of scientists found the heatwave earlier this month was made about 100 times more likely, or around 2-4C hotter due to global warming. And Met Office analysis has found the kind of 40C temperatures seen in 2022 have a 50:50 chance of happening again in the next 12 years as the risk of extreme heat rises with climate change – with temperatures of 45C now possible in the UK. – What are the impacts of heatwaves? Scientists such as Dr Fredi Otto, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial and one of the scientists leading the World Weather Attribution work, label heatwaves as 'silent killers'. 'Every year thousands of people in Europe die due to extreme heat, particularly those that live in poorly insulated homes, on busy, polluted roads, and that have already health problems,' she said. Particularly at risk are those who are older, or have pre-existing health conditions: more than 1,000 excess deaths among older people were recorded around the four-day peak of the July 2022 heatwave, with more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England over that summer. Heatwaves also lead to increased calls to ambulance and emergency services, affect the functioning of hospitals, care homes and schools, hit outdoor workers and damage agriculture, cause transport disruption, raise the risk of wildfires and put water supplies under pressure. Experts also warn extreme heat is linked to worsening symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and to increased violence. – So what can people do to protect themselves? Experts suggest a number of practical steps people can take to protect themselves and others against this week's extreme heat. These include trying to keep homes cool by closing windows and curtains during the day to keep out the heat, and opening them at night when it is cooler, drinking plenty of non-alcoholic cold drinks, staying out of the sun, avoiding exercise and checking on elderly people. Measures are also needed to protect communities, including green spaces, better quality housing, temporary cooling centres, and even rescheduling large-scale outdoor events outside the summer months, according to Dr Malcolm Mistry, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Ultimately though, the risk of extreme heat is only going to worsen with continued climate change, with scientists warning the only way to curb global warming is to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero worldwide. As Professor James Dyke, assistant director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, puts it: 'These latest European heatwaves are the result of record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions. 'Europe is the fastest-warming continent as a result of human-caused climate change. 'The only way to avoid even more extreme heat is to rapidly phase out fossil fuels.'


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Almost 2,200 dog attacks on Royal Mail staff last year
Almost 2,200 dog attacks were recorded on Royal Mail staff in the UK last year, the organisation has highest number of incidents occurred in the Sheffield and Portsmouth post codes, with 66 and 60 attacks Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has raised concerns that dogs purchased during the Covid pandemic were more likely to display problem behaviours.A Royal Mail spokesperson said "dog attacks remain one of the most significant safety risks faced by postal workers". Ellenore King-Voisin, from Farnborough, Hampshire, was delivering mail to a property with two dogs – one of which she was concerned had an aggressive temperament."The dog jumped up at me and bit me three times just above the right knee. When I looked down, I could see the flesh on my leg hanging," she started screaming which caused the owner and his daughter to come rushing out. "I also startled the dog as it ran back into the house. I had to do my own first aid as the man and his daughter were crying," she recalledMs King-Voisin was taken to A&E, where her wound was treated and she was given a tetanus jab. As a result of the attack, she was off work for three weeks."If I hear or see a dog now – any dog - I'll freeze. I'll literally stop and wait until the owner walks past me because there's no way I'm taking a chance. "I feel as though I have to be ready to fight off an attack rather than it happen and I'm not aware," she said. Royal Mail said there were 2,197 dog attacks on its staff in the 2024-25 financial is down slightly from 2,206 the year before but the organisation included 53 weeks in the 2023-24 financial year. Adjusting for that extra week, 2024-25 is up 2% on the year before. Royal Mail reported a drop in significant injuries from dog attacks. There were 74 recorded last year, down from 82 in Sheffield postcode had the most incidents, with 66 reported, followed by 60 in the Portsmouth area. Dr Rowena Packer of the RVC said she was concerned a rise in dog ownership during the pandemic meant there are more dogs that "were less likely to be exposed to strangers visiting the home"."There's going to be more dogs that are uncomfortable with having strangers, potentially strangers in an unusual outfit."An RVC study published last year suggested dogs bought in the pandemic had higher rates of problem behaviours."We've got this current population of dog owners that don't have previous experience, that might be receiving unreliable and potentially dangerous advice on how to train their dog online," Dr Packer added that "older dogs can be taught an appropriate response"."One of the things I think people really miss out of their dog training is training dogs to settle, to relax, to go somewhere." Lizz Lloyd, health and safety director at Royal Mail, said: "Dog attacks remain one of the most significant safety risks faced by postal workers." "In many cases, these incidents result in serious injuries, emotional distress, and time away from work. "Royal Mail continues to call on the public to be vigilant and responsible by securing their pets before opening the door to receive mail or packages."