Alarmed by the alarm: people react to ‘severe alert’ on phones over UK wildfires

Original article by Sammy Gecsoyler

On Friday at 7pm, Thérèse Coffey was nine miles away from a nuclear power station when her phone made a loud, piercing and very worrying sound: it was a “severe” emergency alert. “Was expecting [a] much more specific alert, not a generic message on wildfires,” the former Conservative cabinet minister said on X.

She wasn’t alone in being alarmed by the alarm sent to phones in England and Wales. In the aftermath, thousands of social media users expressed their shock at alert. Some shared funny memes and others lamented what they viewed as lack of government action on decarbonisation. Academic John Ritzema called it a “massive overreach” and said the alert system should be “be for ‘drop everything and prepare for something terrible’ situations”, something Coffey echoed, saying alerts should not become commonplace to avoid “Peter cries wolf situations”.

Even broadcasters were taken by surprise. The alert sounded live on the BBC’s The One Show, with host Ronan Kemp saying: “We’ve got some form of fire alarm going on.”

Chris Packham used the alert to plug a parliamentary petition calling for a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks.

The alert on Friday night came as Andy Burnham spent time in Stourbridge in the West Midlands earlier that day after homes were destroyed and residents were left injured by a series of fires. The prime minister warned that Britain “is a tinderbox right now”, with the public set for a “difficult weekend”.

It has been a record year of wildfires in England and Wales: the number so far has passed the 1,017 recorded in 2025. Fire services declared 11 major incidents in a 24-hour period starting on Thursday.

People have been urged not to light barbecues, campfires, fireworks or anything else that could spark a blaze while the wildfire risk remains high. They have also been urged to call 999 immediately if they spot a fire.

The wildfires have also prompted calls within the Labour party to accelerate action against the climate crisis. Sadiq Khan warned Burnham not to “slow down on net zero” and said the heatwave and wildfires showed the need for action on climate change. The London mayor described the planet as being in a “deeply precarious position”.

“We need reassurance from the government that they won’t slow down on net zero or reducing our reliance on oil and gas and that they’ll continue accelerating the green investment we need to get our country and planet back on track,” he said.

Burnham announced a temporary national ban on the sale of disposable barbecues, to be enforced immediately. The ban will remain in place as long as the risk of wildfires remains high.

The military was called in to assist stretched emergency services in south Wales. About 100 personnel were deployed, with about 100 more due to arrive to distribute water and provide logistical support.

Burnham also announced £65m of extra ⁠funding for ⁠farmers ​hit by a drought. He said on X: “Today we’re putting £65m more into ⁠supporting farmers through this drought and preparing ​for the ‌summers ahead. They’re ‌on the frontline of a ‌changing climate and they shouldn’t be left to face it alone.

“The ability to grow our own food is ‌national security. I’ll treat it that way,” he said.

Britain’s cereal harvest ​is on track to be ​the ‌worst since comparable ​records ​began in 1984, according to an analysis published earlier this month.