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Ariana Baio
Jul 20, 2022
Heatwave in Europe: Which countries are worst hit?
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Almost everyone could have predicted how badly the heatwave would hit the UK, except the Daily Mail, it seems.
A viral tweet shows the side-by-side photos of the Daily Mail's front page from Tuesday and Wednesday show the stark difference the publication took when covering the extreme heat.
On Tuesday, the newspaper's front page featured the headline "Sunny day snowflake Britain had a meltdown" seemingly mocking the precautions UK residents took in preparation for the heatwave.
"Schools close, workers stay home and shops shut + Trains, Tubes, and flights cancelled + And 'extreme heat' will be worse today," a subheading read.
But the tone of the front page on Wednesday was very different.
Featuring a photo of a burning building with the headline "Nightmare of Wildfires" with a small graphic explaining it was the hottest day on record at 40.3°C (104°F)
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"Life comes at you fast," Adam Bienkov wrote attaching a photo of the two front pages.
\u201cLife comes at you fast.\u201d— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1658298603
The publication was criticized for insinuating coverage of the heatwave before Tuesday was overdramatic, despite temperatures ranging from 33°- 37°C (91°-99°F) on Monday.
Although at that point infrastructure issues and wildfires were not as widespread, leaders and climate scientists warned people to prepare for extreme heat.
\u201c@AdamBienkov Ah, so a warm summer day causes buildings to self combust. \ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1658298603
As record-high temperatures hit the UK, the impact of the scorching days came to fruition. Airports were forced to halt planes as the tarmac melted, trains were unable to run, and wildfires broke out. The London Fire Brigade and Met Police issued warnings for people to avoid the outdoors and practice preventative fire measures.
But the Daily Mail's take on the heatwave was not forgotten by some readers who commented on that different tone approaches.
\u201cThe Daily Mail's overnight 180 degree backflip from 'snowflake Britain had a meltdown' to 'nightmare of wildfires' proves it doesn't expect its readers to keep track of its editorial positions from one day to the next\u201d— David__Osland (@David__Osland) 1658307100
\u201cThe Daily Mail doing an about-face in literally a day. At least their turnaround this time was faster than when they supported the Blackshirts\u201d— Tory Moments (@Tory Moments) 1658271138
Many climate scientists attribute the extreme heat to global warming causing a change in climate. But many people refuse to acknowledge any scientific evidence of this.
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