It might sound dramatic to liken Dartford to the Gates of Hades but this summer Dartford Heath and the marshes along the River Thames have truly paid a high price for soaring temperatures. Along with other places in the country, we witnessed the unfortunate consequences of this on the local environment. To put this into context, the UK Met Office released its first ever red warning for heat. The two hottest days were 18th and 19th July with the highest temperatures reaching an unprecedented 40°C. It would be hard to argue in the face of this that global warming isn't real and it is worrying to see the profound impact at a local level. These photos were taken along the flood plain on Saturday 20th August. You get some sense of the scale of the fire. On Wednesday 24th, along with other areas of the country, a host pipe ban will be enforced following the driest July on record since 1935. Sources: New Scientist - Climate change made UK 40°C heatwave at least 10 times more like