London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks face uncertainty with 40mph winds expected, raising safety concerns for the event.
London: The city is gearing up for some wild winds on New Year’s Eve, with gusts hitting 45mph. This has got the folks organizing the fireworks a bit anxious about safety.
City Hall is keeping a close eye on the Met Office’s forecast, which has issued a yellow wind alert from 9am on New Year’s Day until 6am the next morning.
With thousands planning to gather at Victoria Embankment to watch Big Ben ring in the new year, the organizers need to make some quick decisions.
It’s a sellout event, and only a handful of tickets are left on resale sites, according to the BBC.
Just the other day, Edinburgh had to cancel its famous Hogmanay street party and fireworks due to bad weather. Blackpool also had to pull the plug on its Christmas by the Sea fireworks because of the conditions.
So, London party-goers are really hoping the weather plays nice this time around.
As of 4:30pm on December 30, there was still no word on cancellation, even with the Met Office’s warnings hanging over the event.
Fireworks expert Stephen Miller mentioned that high winds can be risky, especially for the bigger, more impressive fireworks.
He suggested that if the winds are too strong, they might have to scale back the show. He also noted that cancelling could have some political fallout.
“The bigger fireworks are the most spectacular but also the most dangerous,” he explained. “If there’s a risk, they’ll cut out the larger ones.”
He emphasized that wind speed and direction are crucial. They need to ensure there’s a clear area downwind to keep people safe from any debris.
As long as the wind direction stays steady, they should have safety measures in place to protect the crowd.