Met Office issues first ever extreme heat warning for UK

Heat warning, hot weather, global warming

The Met Office has issued its first ever extreme heat warning for the UK with temperatures possibly reaching 33C in western areas. The amber warning is in place for much of Wales, all of south-west England and parts of southern and central England. It also warned of increasing water safety concerns as six people died in incidents over the weekend. “Many areas will continue to reach heatwave thresholds but the amber extreme heat warning focuses on western areas, where the most unusually high temperatures are likely to persist,” said the Met Office’s chief operational meteorologist, Steven Ramsdale.   An amber warning is the second-highest level under the Met Office’s new extreme heat warning service launched in June. It said temperatures in most areas covered by the warning would be in the high 20s and low 30s. A note accompanying the alert warned of health effects on vulnerable people as well as heat exhaustion and sunburn for the wider population. “I wrote to the prime minister last year and again at the start of this summer to warn that the country was not properly prepared for the growing risks from hot weather and needed a national heat risk strategy. We know that heatwaves are becoming more intense and frequent because of climate change,” said Bob Ward of the LSE’s Grantham research institute on climate change and the environment. “We are now facing conditions that are similar to the period of hot weather that occurred in August 2020, resulting in more than 1,700 deaths across England.” He said elderly people and those with respiratory illnesses were most vulnerable but deaths could be avoided with a national plan to manage the increasing heat. The Met Office also said the likelihood that people would flock to coasts, rivers and lakes would increase water safety concerns. At least six people died in such incidents over the weekend, leading to calls from emergency services warning people against swimming in open water.