Another moorland fire breaks out near Oldham after 'hottest day of year'
Another moorland fire broke out near Oldham on Sunday evening after the 'hottest day of the year' so far. Fire crews raced to the incident at around 6pm and remained at the scene throughout the evening.
Pictures and videos taken off Holmfirth Road showed the scorched ground and fire raging on near Diggle and Dovestones on Sunday (March 9).
The cause of the blaze has not been confirmed, but the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said two fire engines were called to the moor to dampen the flames.
READ MORE: Warning over rogue 'meet and greet' parking firms plaguing Manchester Airport
READ MORE: Police issue warning after three people die in Blackpool
Videos shared with the M.E.N show a moorland fire this evening near Diggle in Oldham.Nick Moore@MENnewsdesk pic.twitter.com/NwAlDlbaPC
— James Holt - M.E.N (@jameshjourno) March 9, 2025
The Met Office announced that Sunday had been the hottest day of 2025 so far in the UK, with temperatures reaching between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius across Greater Manchester.
It comes just days after another moorland fire broke out in the same area on Wednesday (March 5), with local residents urged to keep their windows and doors shut as plumes of smoke covered the area.
Dramatic pictures last week showed a huge wall of orange flames, with a sea of blue lights towards the bottom of the hill in the Huddersfield Road and Holmfirth Road areas.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: 'Just before 6.30pm this evening (Sunday 9th March), two fire engines from Mossley and Stalybridge fire station were call about reports of a fire near the moor off Holmfirth Road, Greenfield.
'Crews arrived quickly at the scene. Firefighter are using fire beaters and other specialist equipment to extinguish the fire. Firefighters have been in attendance for around forty minutes and are still at the scene.'
The GMFRS wildfire campaign (Be Moor Aware) aims to prevent moorland fires and wildfires, and to reduce the impact which they have on the service, communities, businesses and the environment.
Members of the public are asked to 'act responsibly' on the moors and not start fires, BBQs or use fireworks. People are asked to dipose of all litter and not discard used cigarettes. Consequences of starting a fire can result in a fine and/or prison
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
School's out: climate change keeps Pakistan students home
Pakistan's children are losing weeks of education each year to school closures caused by climate change-linked extreme weather, prompting calls for a radical rethink of learning schedules. Searing heat, toxic smog and unusual cold snaps have all caused closures that are meant to spare children the health risks of learning in classrooms that are often overcrowded and lack basic cooling, heating or ventilation systems. In May, a nationwide heatwave saw temperatures up to seven degrees Celsius above normal, hitting 45C (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in Punjab and prompting several provinces to cut school hours or start summer holidays early. "The class becomes so hot that it feels like we are sitting in a brick kiln," said 17-year-old Hafiz Ehtesham outside an inner city Lahore school. "I don't even want to come to school." Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with limited resources for adaptation, and extreme weather is compounding an existing education crisis caused mostly by access and poverty. "Soon we will have major cognitive challenges because students are being impacted by extreme heat and extreme smog over long periods of time," said Lahore-based education activist Baela Raza Jamil. "The poorest are most vulnerable. But climate change is indeed a great leveller and the urban middle class is also affected." Pakistan's summers historically began in June, when temperatures hit the high 40s. But in the last five years, May has been similarly hot, according to the Meteorological Department. "During a power outage, I was sweating so much that the drops were falling off my forehead onto my desk," 15-year-old Jannat, a student in Lahore, told AFP. "A girl in my class had a nosebleed from the heat." - Health versus learning - Around a third of Pakistani school-age children -- over 26 million -- are out of school, according to government figures, one of the highest numbers in the world. And 65 percent of children are unable to read age-appropriate material by age 10. School closures affect almost every part of Pakistan, including the country's most populous province Punjab, which has the highest rates of school attendance. Classes closed for two weeks in November over air pollution, and another week in May because of heat. In the previous academic year, three weeks were lost in January to a cold snap and two weeks in May due to heat. Political unrest and cricket matches that closed roads meant more lost days. In Balochistan, Pakistan's poorest province, May heatwaves have prompted early summer vacations for three years running, while in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, school hours are regularly slashed. For authorities, the choice is often between sending children to school in potentially dangerous conditions or watching them fall behind. In southern Sindh province, authorities have resisted heat-related closures despite growing demands from parents. "It's hard for parents to send their children to school in this kind of weather," private school principal Sadiq Hussain told AFP in Karachi, adding that attendance drops by 25 percent in May. "Their physical and mental health is being affected," added Dost Mohammad Danish, general secretary of All Sindh Private Schools and Colleges Association. "Don't expect better scientists from Pakistan in the coming years." - 'Everyone is suffering' - Schools in Pakistan are overseen by provincial authorities, whose closure notices apply to all schools in a region, even when they are hundreds of kilometres (miles) apart and may be experiencing different conditions, or have different resources to cope. Teachers, parents and education experts want a rethink of school hours, exam timetables and vacations, with schools able to offer Saturday classes or split the school day to avoid the midday heat. Izza Farrakh, a senior education specialist at the World Bank, said climate change-related impacts are affecting attendance and learning outcomes. "Schools need to have flexibility in determining their academic calendar. It shouldn't be centralised," she said, adding that end-of-year exams usually taken in May could be replaced by regular assessments throughout the year. Adapting school buildings is also crucial. International development agencies have already equipped thousands of schools with solar panels, but many more of the country's 250,000 schools need help. Hundreds of climate-resilient schools funded by World Bank loans are being built in Sindh. They are elevated to withstand monsoon flooding, and fitted with solar panels for power and rooftop insulation to combat heat and cold. But in Pakistan's most impoverished villages, where education is a route out of generational poverty, parents still face tough choices. In rural Sukkur, the local school was among 27,000 damaged or destroyed by unprecedented 2022 floods. Children learn outside their half-collapsed school building, unprotected from the elements. "Our children are worried, and we are deeply concerned," said parent Ali Gohar Gandhu, a daily wage labourer. "Everyone is suffering." nz-sam/ecl/sah/rsc/sco
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Beach days! First heat wave of the year is coming to Vancouver
Temperatures are expected to soar into the high 20s through the weekend and beyond across Metro Vancouver, as the first sustained heat wave of the year settles into the B.C. South Coast. Although the thermostat topped out at about 28 degrees Celsius at Vancouver airport on May 28, it was a one-day wonder, as temperatures were closer to seasonal on the days before and after that sultry Saturday. With sunny skies in the forecast through at least next Tuesday, the daily high in Vancouver on Friday will be 20 C and up to 25 C inland. The humidex, which combines the effect of air moisture with temperature, will make it feel as toasty as 27 C. Saturday and Sunday will be even warmer, with highs of 22 and 23 C respectively near the water and 28 and 29 C inland. The same pattern holds on Monday and Tuesday, with highs of 23 and 24 and up to 29 C away from coastal areas. The UV index across the next few days will also be very high, so slap on that sunscreen if you're hitting the beach or spending much time outdoors. Overnight lows will drop into the mid-teens near the water, but it could stay warmer inland, so you might want to get the fans or air conditioner set up if you haven't already. While the balmy pre-summer weather likely won't warrant any heat warnings along the B.C. coast, areas further east could get some high heat. Kelowna is expected to reach daily highs into the low 30s C early next week, and Kamloops could top out at 35 C on Monday. B.C.'s perennial hot spot, Lytton, could see a daily high of 37 C on Sunday, which for old-school Fahrenheit fans equates to just a tick below 100 degrees. With some cloud in the forecast beginning late Tuesday, temperatures are expected to dip into the mid-teens in the latter half of the week ahead. However, the long-term forecast from the Weather Network calls for lower-than-normal precipitation and a warm summer ahead. Consider the next few days — pardon the pun — a warm-up. jruttle@ Drought, wildfire concerns with warm summer forecast for B.C. Winds expected to drive wildfire toward Kelly Lake in B.C.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Muslim pilgrims pray at Mount Arafat in hajj apex
Muslim pilgrims prayed atop Mount Arafat on Thursday during the high point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, as Saudi officials called on participants to refrain from being outside during the hottest hours of the day. Thousands of pilgrims were beginning to gather before dawn around the hill and the surrounding plain where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon. While some arrived early to take advantage of the relatively cool morning, many pilgrims will remain for hours of prayers and Koran recitals until the evening in the most arduous portion of the hajj. After sunset they will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles so they can perform the symbolic "stoning of the devil". "This is something that I used to see every year on the TV screen during hajj and I always thought: 'I wish I could be here'," said 33-year-old Ali from Pakistan, one of 1.5 million pilgrims who had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage. "I've been trying to get here... for the past 3 years," he added as he gazed at the mount. "I feel very blessed." Hundreds of pilgrims dressed in white dotted the mount itself, with many more at its foot praying or taking pictures. Earlier this week, Saudi authorities called on pilgrims to stay inside their tents between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on Thursday, when the desert sun is at its harshest. Temperatures this year have already exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) as one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings, bringing together devotees from around the globe, kicked off earlier this week Officials have beefed up heat mitigation efforts aiming to avoid a repeat of last year's hajj, which saw 1,301 pilgrims die as temperatures reached 51.8C. "I came here early to (avoid) the sun and later I will pray inside my tent," said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria. To make this year's pilgrimage safer, authorities have expanded infrastructure, deployed thousands of extra personnel and relied on an arsenal of high-tech tools to help better manage crowds. Authorities have mobilised more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related illness following the lethal heatwave of 2024. Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands more medics will be on standby, and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed, the hajj minister has told AFP. Authorities said a majority of the deaths in 2024 were among unregistered pilgrims who lacked access to amenities like air-conditioned tents and buses. This year, they have also cracked down on unregistered pilgrims looking to sneak into Mecca, relying on frequent raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts. Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by a lottery. But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs prompt many to attempt the hajj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught. Large crowds at the hajj have proved lethal in the past, most notably in 2015 when a stampede during the "stoning the devil" ritual in Mina killed up to 2,300 people in the deadliest hajj disaster. Saudi Arabia earns billions of dollars a year from the hajj, and the lesser pilgrimage known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year. bur-ds/ami/dhw
