When UK could see July heatwave – with temperatures to hit 30ºC

Parts of the UK are set to face another heatwave this weekend, as temperatures are set to reach as high as 30°C in the capital on Sunday. The UK Health Security Agency has issued a new yellow heat health alert across the south of England and parts of the Midlands coming into force from Sunday, as more warm weather is expected until next Wednesday. By Friday, temperatures could approach 28°C in Greater London and the Home Counties. With some top temperatures expecting to reach 30°C, it is expected that Sunday would be the earliest for a heatwave to be declared. Over this weekend and early next week, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Newcastle are forecast for cool temperatures between 19°C to 23°C despite areas in the south reaching towards 30°C. Tony Wisson, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, said: “Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.” Last Friday was confirmed by the Met Office as the UK’s hottest June day on record, with a temperature of 37.3°C recorded in Suffolk, surpassing Thursday’s high of 36.7°C recorded in Merryfield, Somerset. Another heatwave on the way The June heatwave saw disturbingly high temperatures across the UK, with many parts experiencing record-smashing heat on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Last week, The Environment Agency revealed that Cam and Ely Ouse, Northwest Norfolk, and North Norfolk catchments in East Anglia Area have moved from normal to prolonged dry weather status. Due to lower-than-average rainfall and record temperatures this spring, The Environment Agency said: “This has resulted in a greater than normal reduction in reservoir and groundwater storage and river flows for several water companies.” As of last week, Anglian Water, South East Water, and Yorkshire Water have declared that they have moved into drought level 1. This follows the procedure expected by water companies to report their drought response using operational drought levels, from level 1 escalating to level 4. All other national water companies still operate in “business as usual”. The Met Office defines a heatwave as at least three consecutive days of temperatures above what would normally be expected from that time of the year, and the threshold differs per area. For London, Eastern England, the South East and East Midlands, the temperature needed for a heatwave is 27-28°C. For Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, South West England, and Northern England, it is 25°C. Spectators protect themselves with hats at the Lexus Eastbourne Open. Scientists warned that the June heatwave would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago (Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP) What caused the June heatwave? According to the Met Office, the June heatwave was driven by a “heat dome” – an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat – that settled over western Europe and brought extreme conditions across the continent. This has been compounded by human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, which is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense. Scientists warned that the heatwave would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago. Heatwave’s impact on the UK Health chiefs warned of the impact the conditions were having on services last week as they faced significantly more life-threatening emergency calls. A hosepipe ban brought in by South East water for thousands of customers remains in place. Cheltenham residents were given just 48 bottles of water between 75 flats, due to the heatwave exacerbating their water supply issue. Affinity Water has warned customers it “may make careful adjustments to water pressure” in some areas of their network to combat high demand. Anglian Water has urged customers to “reduce their water usage” in response to demand exceeding supply. People refilling water bottles on the first day of BST Hyde Park in London – an amber extreme heat warning remains in place over southeast England amid an ongoing heatwave (Photo: Jack Taylor/Reuters) Health chiefs warned of the effect the conditions were having on services last week as they faced significantly more life-threatening emergency calls. A teenager in Southampton, a man in Shropshire, and a man in Clacton died after getting into difficulty swimming in open water. The body of a 15-year-old boy was also recovered from a reservoir in Manchester on Saturday. The deaths bring the total number of fatalities during the recent heatwave to seven after a 50-year-old man was pronounced dead on Wednesday afternoon at Aberavon beach on the south coast of Wales, and a teenage boy was found drowned in Leicestershire. A man in Cambridge wears a sun shield visor to protect his face from UV rays during Britain’s high temperatures (Photo: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters) Several hospitals declared critical incidents last week, with University Hospital Southampton being forced to cancel a number of planned operations and some outpatient appointments. Cooling systems in MRI scanners at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals failed, prompting a critical incident to be declared and hundreds of appointments cancelled. Hundreds of schools and nurseries were forced to close and a hosepipe ban was brought in for Kent amid surging demand. A wildfire was also reported in the Peak District last Wednesday due to the high temperatures. The scene at Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, in Derbyshire, where a major wildfire was reported (Photo: Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service) Train passengers were urged to avoid non-essential travel across much of England, Courts were also affected, with the cells at Bristol Crown Court closed because of the heat and defendants moved to Bristol Magistrates’ Court, where it was thought to be cooler. Additional reporting by agencies