Heat health alert in place as temperatures set to soar to 28C
A heat health alert has been issued across large parts of England as the Met Office predicts a warm few days in store. Temperatures could reach up to 28C in some parts of the country throughout the coming days, while the forecaster warns of “stubbornly” warn nights ahead.
The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office has issued the alert across the South and the Midlands, including the whole of the West Country. The warnings are specifically aimed at the health and social care sector in England, which can suffer from the effects of very warm weather[1].
The alert states “minor impacts” are probably across the sector and include the increased use of health care services by vulnerable people, as well as the increased risk of mortality among vulnerable people. There is also the risk of indoors spaces becoming “very hot”.
The Met Office says temperatures have been on the rise in recent days and are expected to climb even higher as the week continues. The mercury is expected to peak on Friday, topping out at 28C in some parts of the country.
While Bristol is not one of these areas, the city is expected to hit 25C over the coming days and stay in the mid-to-low 20s over the weekend. Friday is anticipated to be hot and humid, with rain forecast for much of the weekend.
Gloucestershire is also likely to see temperature hit 25C on Thursday before falling back to the low 20s on Friday and over the coming weekend.
The Met Office said: “However, from later on Friday we will also see some heavy, at times thundery, rain for many, as active weather fronts move from the southwest to the northeast, clearing northern Scotland on Saturday afternoon.
“Details on the location of the heaviest rain are still being determined, and there’s a chance of Met Office warnings being issued with some potentially impactful rain on the way for some.”
A yellow weather warning for strong winds has already been issued across western parts of Wales and the forecaster has not ruled out more warnings over the weekend. Thunderstorms are possible in some areas, though they are currently not expected in the South West.
Speaking in the Met Office’s YouTube series 10 Day Trend, Aidan McGivern said: “There’s an area of low-pressure to the west. This will orientate with the high pressure and will waft in some warmer air from the south in the next few days.
“Another area of low-pressure heads towards the UK at the start of Friday. The instability in the atmosphere will create a line of showers or even some thunderstorms and there could be some heavy downpours moving through central parts of the UK, though there is some uncertainty on the distribution.
“Where we do get some breaks in the cloud on Friday, it will still be a fairly warm day, though temperatures won’t be exceptional, and it will feel quite humid because of this southerly airflow.”
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Steven Keates added: “The main event arrives during Friday evening, with the potential for intense thunderstorms to break out over parts of England, bringing a lot of rain in a short period of time, along with the risk of hail and frequent lightning.
“At the same time heavy rain, initially arriving into the southwest, will fairly steadily move northeast, potentially bringing some substantial rainfall totals to parts of Northern Ireland and eastern Scotland in particular.”
References
- ^ weather (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
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