Sadiq Khan has called on the Government to “tackle climate change at source” as the Met Office issues a thunderstorm warning.
The Mayor of London has also urged for more to be done to develop UK cities to ensure they can cope with extreme weather conditions.
Mr Khan said: “We saw in the beginning of August in one day, the busiest day of the fire service since the second world war.
“And later this week we could be seeing flash floods in our city.
Sadiq Khan
PA
Sadiq Khan has called for the Government to "tackle climate change at source"
Victoria Jones
“I’m really concerned about the ability of not just the fire brigade but our city to deal with what is now becoming a regular event of heatwaves, droughts, and flash flooding.
“That’s why it’s really important the Government does two big things; one is to tackle climate change at source to reduce the possibility of temperatures exceeding 1.5C.
“And secondly making sure we develop our cities and our country so we can deal with the consequences of climate change.”
His comments come after the Met Office issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for most of the UK on Monday and Tuesday as conditions could cause flash flooding, transport disruption and power cuts in areas hit by heavy rain.
The weather warning will stay in place for southern England on Wednesday, where communities could be cut off by flooded roads, and the chance of fast-flowing or deep flood water could cause danger to life.
Experts warned that city drainage systems may not be able to cope if a sudden downpour hits as water would likely run off land that has dried up over weeks of little rain and hot weather.
The National Drought Group on Friday moved parts of the South West, parts of southern and central England, and the East of England into official drought status, while six water companies have imposed or announced plans to impose hosepipe restrictions.
