Sunny coverage of UK heatwaves forgets risks, say climate experts

Media urged to make public aware of dangers associated with increasingly hot summers

The public is being lulled into a false sense of security about the UK's increasingly extreme weather patterns by news and weather reports that present long, hot, dry spells as good news, according to scientists and campaigners.

Experts say unusually dry and sunny conditions like those experienced in the UK over the past two months are too often framed as something to celebrate, with newspaper and TV reports featuring pictures of people sunbathing, playing in fountains or eating ice creams.