Amber heat wave alert issued with warning of fatal risk to elderly

An amber health alert comes into force today with UK temperatures potentially reaching as high as 35C on Monday.

The alert, the second amber health alert in two weeks, covers London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England and runs from midday until 6pm on Tuesday.

It’s issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and includes a ‘possible rise in deaths’ warning, especially among those aged 65 and people living with health conditions.

Forecasters predict temperatures in southern England could reach 28C today, before rising to 30C on Saturday and 31C on Sunday.

It’s then expected to peak between 32C and 35C on Monday.

An amber alert was previously issued for all regions in England on June 19, the first time it had been used since September 2023.

Heatwaves were declared across England and Wales, with a temperature of 32.2C recorded in Kew, west London

Heatwaves are officially recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three days in a row, with with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C depending on their location in the UK.

The UKHSA alert system, which works in collaboration with the Met Office, has four levels of alerts, green, yellow, amber and red, with red being the most serious.

An amber warning means the whole health service is likely to be affected.

As well as a risk of death among elderly people and those with medical conditions, an amber alert could mean people have difficulty managing medicines, deliver services at work, and the internal temperatures in care settings could go above recommended levels.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at the UKHSA, said: ‘We have already seen a spell of hot weather last week and temperatures are once again set to increase in the coming days, with central, southern and eastern areas of the country likely to see the biggest impacts.

‘Our findings show that heat, especially at the sort of temperatures we are likely to see at the beginning of next week, can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions.

‘It is, therefore, important to check on friends, family and neighbours who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.’

Meanwhile, Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell, said: ‘From Friday onwards we’re starting to once again see the heat build across England and Wales.

‘Scotland and Northern Ireland are going to have a slightly different few days, some parts of western Scotland could see some heavy rain, especially on Friday, and we could potentially see some further rain towards the end of the weekend.

‘On Friday, we’re likely to see temperatures potentially peak around 27C or 28C in central and southern parts of England, it’s going to feel quite humid.’

He said on Saturday, the hottest weather will be in the south east, potentially reaching 30C.

‘On Sunday, we’re most likely to see somewhere around 30C or 31C,’ Mr Snell added.

‘It looks like the peak of the hot spell will be Monday, at the moment it’s looking between 32C and 34C, there’s a chance it’ll be hotter than the previous (heatwave).

‘Tuesday, some fresher air is going to spread across the country, but we’re potentially likely to see between 31C and 33C.’

Some parts of central and southern England might meet the heatwave criteria by Monday, he said.

As of Monday, some potential thunderstorms could move in, but it is too early to say where they might be, he explained.

Temperatures are likely to go back down to the mid-20s after Tuesday, which is still above average for the time of year, the forecaster said.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.