Britain’s record high temperatures could be life-threatening, the UK’s Met Office has warned, with the nation predicted to experience a blistering heatwave early next week.
Meteorologists gave an 80 per cent chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C, set in the southern city of Cambridge in 2019, with the current heatwave set to peak on Tuesday.
Temperatures will climb over the weekend, and the Met Office has issued an amber warning for heat covering much of England and Wales from Sunday until Tuesday.
Daytime temperatures on Saturday are predicted to be around 27C in London, 26C in Cardiff, 23C in Belfast and 21C in Edinburgh.
On Sunday, the mercury will rise to 30C in the capital, 27C in Cardiff, 24C in Belfast and 23C in Edinburgh.
Temperatures are forecast to increase by several more degrees across the nation on Tuesday – up to the mid-thirties for much of England and Wales.
There is a 50 per cent chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK, with the Met Office issuing its first ever red warning for extreme heat.
The Health Security Agency has increased its heat health warning from level three to level four – signifying a “national emergency”.
Level four is reached “when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system … At this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups,” it said.
A Met Office red warning, for Monday and Tuesday, covers an area from London to Manchester, and up to the Vale of York.
“If people have vulnerable relatives or neighbours, now is the time to make sure they’re putting suitable measures in place to be able to cope with the heat,” Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said.
“Because if the forecast is as we think it will be, in the red warning area, then people’s lives are at risk.
“This is a very serious situation.”
A government spokesman said railway speed restrictions may be needed on “some parts of the network next week to manage the hot weather and to avoid any potential damage”.
Jake Kelly, of Network Rail, warned journeys will take “significantly longer and delays are likely as speed restrictions are introduced to keep passengers and railway staff safe”.
Train operators have warned passengers to avoid travelling on Monday and Tuesday unless their journey is “absolutely necessary”.
Some southern schools are also considering closing.
Downing Street said that the crisis-management committee COBRA met on Thursday, and held discussions with sectors including the National Health Service.
COBRA will “continue to work closely with all of those sectors over today, through the weekend and into early next week”.
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