by Toby Young
Temperatures will climb to a record-breaking 38C next week as a ‘heat dome’ is set to hit Britain, with the Met Office issuing a new four-day warning for extreme weather. The Mail has more.
Record highs of 38C – or more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit – have been forecast for Wednesday and Thursday by the national weather service – breaking June’s highest-ever recorded temperature of a blistering 35.6C in Southampton in 1976 and Camden Square in 1957.
In London, temperatures will rise to a scorching 38C across the two days, while Birmingham will see similar highs of 35C on Wednesday and 37C on Thursday.
Amber extreme heat warnings have been extended by the Met Office from Monday and Tuesday to include Wednesday and Thursday, covering much of southern England and Wales, the East and West Midlands, the South West and South East England, as well as the East of England.
The heat is expected to remain sweltering throughout next week as tropical nights have been predicted in areas where temperatures remain above 20C.
Dew points – indicative of the air’s humidity – are also forecast to be around 22C on Wednesday and Thursday, surpassing the record-breaking July 2022 heatwave, when they remained unusually low, mostly in the single figures, meaning the heat was oppressive.
The new alerts, issued on Sunday, have raised concerns about the potential health impacts for people vulnerable to extreme heat and heat-related issues for the wider population, as well as a possible increase in water safety incidents.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has released a separate heat health alert amid the soaring temperatures, which includes most of England from Monday morning until Friday night.
A UKHSA yellow heat alert is also in place for North East England during the same period.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, Tom Crabtree, said the ongoing heatwave is “developing into an impactful severe weather event, with record breaking June temperatures and very high humidity”.
Mr Crabtree said: “The combination of heat and humidity will be oppressive and bring impacts across society from public health and infrastructure, to power and water supplies.
“As well as very high daytime temperatures, there will be consecutive nights where temperatures do not drop below 20°C, which is called a Tropical Night.
“This will make it very hard for people to recover from the daytime heat, exacerbating the heat stress impacts.”
The scorching temperatures will coincide with rising pollen levels across the country next week, with the Met Office predicting ‘very high’ counts from Sunday.
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