London Fire Brigade has declared a "major incident" in response to a "huge surge in fires" across the capital.

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, urged residents to dispose of cigarettes safely and refrain from BBQing on grass or balconies.

"This is critical: @LondonFire is under immense pressure. Please be safe," he tweeted.

It comes as temperatures surpassed 40C for the first time ever in the UK, with 40.2C provisionally recorded at London Heathrow, according to the Met Office.

UK heatwave: huge surge in fires across England as temperatures top 40C and major incident declared


The threshold was hit at 12.50pm as much of the UK sweltered in a record-breaking heatwave, with parts of England and Wales under a red warning for extreme heat, posing a danger to life and causing disruption across the transport network.

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