The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow heat health alert for London and other regions as temperatures are forecast to climb once again, potentially reaching 33C by next week. The alert comes into force at 9am on Saturday, August 8, and remains active until 9pm on Tuesday, August 11.
Heatwave returns after brief respite
After temperatures dropped closer to seasonal averages from Wednesday, the Met Office predicts a rise from Saturday, with much of central and southern England, as well as parts of Wales, expected to see highs of 30C to 33C by Tuesday. London is among the areas affected, with the capital bracing for another spell of intense heat.
In addition to London, yellow alerts have been issued for the East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, South West, East of England, Yorkshire, and the Humber. These alerts warn that high temperatures could have a significant impact on health and social care services, potentially leading to an increase in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with pre-existing health conditions.
Met Office forecasts
Honor Criswick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, described Friday as a "nice, dry, settled day with quite a bit of warm sunshine around." On Saturday, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland may see cloud and outbreaks of rain, while central and southern England and eastern Wales will enjoy dry conditions with highs of about 29C.
"Where we see the sunshine, it’s going to start to turn quite increasingly warm on Saturday," Ms Criswick said. "Saturday night going into Sunday, that’s a slightly warmer day, so temperatures are already going to be that bit higher starting off the day, which is why we’ll see a bit of an increase once again on Sunday – probably reaching between 30C and 32C, and that’ll be somewhere across south or south-east England."
She noted that some showery rain may sink south-eastwards on Sunday, but added: "It’s only just a few showers, and there’s not much rain, really. It’s not going to be enough to make any real difference to the dry summer we’ve had."
Impact of prolonged drought
This summer has already seen two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June, which contributed to more than 2,800 excess deaths, followed by two more in July that fueled drought and wildfires. Last month was the driest July for England and Wales since records began in 1836, according to provisional Met Office figures.
Nineteen counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall – 1mm or less – during the entire month. England as a whole received just a tenth of its average July rainfall, while Wales saw only 9% of its average, with both countries experiencing less than half the rainfall of the previous record dry July in 1911.
The UK, England, and Wales all recorded their sunniest Julys on record, with England and Wales experiencing their sunniest calendar month ever observed. A slight dip in temperatures is expected on Monday, with highs of 27C to 29C across southern England, but Ms Criswick said: "Then on Tuesday, they come up again," with the heat becoming more widespread across England and Wales.
