Updated

Two related reports raised concerns about England's readiness for climate-driven hazards. A Freedom of Information request revealed the government quietly scrapped a scheme to prepare the countryside for wildfires, despite data showing fire services lack proper protective gear, following a summer of record-breaking UK wildfires. Separately, the Environment Agency warned that more than two million people in England are unaware their properties are at risk of flooding, out of 6 million at-risk properties overall, as it forecasts a wetter and windier than usual next three months driven in part by a strengthened El Niño.