Emergency government meeting held over high temperature amid ‘strain on public finances’
The government will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the country’s response to this summer’s high temperatures and drought amid fears that it will add a “strain” on the public finances.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will chair the ‘Cobra’ meeting of ministers overseeing health, water, housing and local government, as well as officials from agencies such as the Met Office and Environment Agency, to discuss the government’s response to recent weather challenges.
Temperatures could reach as high as 38C on Thursday and lead to impacts on infrastructure, transport and health services, according to the Met Office. More than two thirds of the country is in a drought, including the whole of London, which has led to water supplies running out.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said the Cobra meeting was proving to be a challenge for firefighters, doctors and farmers.
“We will continue to take the action needed to keep communities safe, protect water supplies, support farming communities and safeguard the environment,” they added.
The Cobra meeting on Wednesday afternoon will be the second held this summer in response to high temperatures.
City analysts have meanwhile argued that the drought and high temperatures led to a “rude awakening” for food suppliers as climactic changes were “here to stay”.
“Extra measures to keep as much of the harvest safe as possible, increased health and safety measures, and firefighting, all cost more money, and this will end up being a further strain on public coffers,” said Angeline Ong, a senior technical analyst at the investment platform IG.
“This comes at a difficult time, when the impact of war, tariff tantrums, and the expected El Niño has not even been fully accounted for.”
Economists raise alarm on high temperatures
Bank of England officials referenced heatwaves experienced across the world as a factor that could raise inflation while other economists have said that the current weather was costing the UK economy billions in productivity slumps and lower-than-hoped retail sales.
Martin Beck, the chief economist at WPI Strategy, said a “reasonable” estimate for the cost of heatwaves was £3bn although there was a “wide margin of uncertainty around that figure”.
Economists at the left-wing think tank Verdant said the cost to the UK economy was more likely to be over £4bn. The Office for National Statistics has warned that agricultural and construction workers are often half as productive when the weather rises above 35C.
Shore Capital analyst Akhil Patel said that dry summer was set to lead to “one of the poorer harvests on record” for farmers that could make the UK economy more dependent on imported grain and increase animal feed costs for farmers.
“Dairy farmers face much lower grass growth caused by drought and milk yields, forcing earlier use of winter forage or silage reserves and greater reliance on ‘more expensive’ purchased feed,” Patel said.
“While this is supportive for feed demand, it raises concerns around forage and silage availability, livestock profitability and wider crop production.”
Patel added that the government needed to design a 25-year strategy aimed at increasing food security and withstanding the impacts of climate change.