Andy Burnham urges disposable barbecue sales ban amid UK wildfire emergency

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged retailers across the country to immediately pull disposable barbecues from their shelves, warning that a temporary summer ban could soon be imposed as a severe wildfire emergency grips the UK.

The intervention comes in the wake of an emergency COBRA committee meeting convened to coordinate the national response to extreme heat and persistent drought conditions. According to reporting by AOL, Mr Burnham told retailers both big and small to adhere to a voluntary retail restriction framework that is currently being extended through the National Fire Chiefs Council.

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"The big risk in terms of risk to the wider regions across the country is the risk of wildfires. What we are seeing is multiple serious incidents across the country."

Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, via AOL

The UK is currently enduring its fifth summer heatwave, with temperatures forecast to climb as high as 38°C in parts of England. As reported by the Mirror, meteorologists indicate that this summer is firmly on track to become the hottest on record. The prolonged absence of rain has transformed large swathes of the British countryside into a tinderbox, with nearly three-quarters of England and the entirety of Wales officially in drought.

Wildfire Hotspots and Rising Demands on Emergency Crews

The human and environmental toll of the crisis has already matched previous historical extremes. Data compiled by the National Fire Chiefs Council shows that England and Wales have already logged 1,017 wildfires this year, equaling the total recorded across the entirety of 2025.

National Resilience data further highlights the unprecedented strain on emergency personnel, noting that firefighters responded to 966 wildfires between January 1 and August 10 alone. This figure surpasses the totals recorded during the same period in 2022 and 2025. The first ten days of August proved particularly punishing, generating 185 separate wildfire incidents.

Major blazes have continued to break out across Cornwall, the New Forest, and various parts of Wales, requiring coordinated cross-border support. First Minister of Wales Rhun ap Iorwerth chaired a regional Cobra meeting alongside Mr Burnham, securing assurances that National Resilience mutual aid arrangements will continue to prioritise vulnerable areas.

"This afternoon, I welcomed the opportunity to attend a COBR meeting on the current conditions and the impact of wildfires affecting many parts of Wales and across the UK. I sought assurance from UK Government counterparts that National Resilience mutual aid arrangements will continue to prioritise support to wildfire-affected areas, particularly should conditions worsen over the next 48 hours."

Rhun ap Iorwerth, First Minister of Wales, via Western Telegraph

Analysis of parliamentary constituencies by the Moorland Association reveals that the High Peak constituency in Derbyshire—home to Tintwistle Moor near Glossop—faces the greatest overall wildfire risk. A major blaze in the area recently raged for over a month, destroying approximately 2.3 square miles of moorland and woodland while deep peat hotspots smouldered underground. The Calder Valley in West Yorkshire and the Tiverton and Minehead constituency on the Devon-Somerset border rank as the second and third most at-risk areas, respectively.

Wider Impacts: Drought Orders and Public Health Warnings

Beyond the immediate threat of fire, the exceptional lack of rainfall has placed severe pressure on water resources for households, agriculture, and local ecosystems. Southern Water has applied for an emergency drought order targeting Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, which could restrict non-essential commercial water usage such as vehicle washing and filling non-domestic swimming pools. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle must approve the application, which would mark the first such restriction implemented since May 2006.

Public health officials are similarly alarmed by the persistent heat. Mr Burnham highlighted a significant number of excess deaths linked to the high temperatures and urged the public to check on elderly relatives and vulnerable neighbors. Meanwhile, the Met Office issued rare amber extreme heat warnings covering London, the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands, and South Yorkshire.

Experts warn that such severe weather events will become increasingly common without aggressive environmental interventions. Baroness Brown, who chairs adaptation work at the independent Climate Change Committee, cautioned that current conditions represent a baseline for future summers until global greenhouse gas emissions reach net zero.

What to Watch Next

• Retailer Compliance: Monitoring whether major supermarkets and independent stores completely withdraw disposable barbecues from sale under the extended NFCC framework.
• Drought Restrictions: Awaiting Environment Secretary Angela Eagle's final decision on Southern Water's emergency drought order for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
• Weather Progression: Tracking Met Office amber warnings and temperature spikes as forecasters evaluate whether the current heatwave will extend further into late August.
• Welsh Multi-Agency Summit: First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth's upcoming convention of a regional summit in Wales to review wildfire prevention, specialist aviation capabilities, and Ministry of Defence support.