The Cabinet Office will be holding a special meeting on Saturday afternoon to discuss the effects of this weekend’s heatwave. The Met Office has issued its first-ever red warning for extreme heat.
The UK’s first red extreme heat warning has been issued as temperatures are forecast to hit 40C in England next week. Prof Isabel Oliver said anybody can be affected by the heat.
The Met Office has issued a red warning for extreme heat for next week, meaning passengers should only travel if necessary and speed restrictions may be introduced on some railways to keep passengers and railway staff safe.
The Met Office has issued a red warning for heatwave conditions, and the UKHSA has issued its highest level four heat alert, warning illness and death could occur “among the fit and healthy”.
Heat exhaustion can happen to anyone, especially if you are doing strenuous exercise in high temperatures or have been drinking alcohol in the sun all day. The symptoms include excessive sweating, feeling very hot and unwell, and being very thirsty.
The meeting will be held in order to review the strategies in place to cope with the effects of this weekend’s heatwave, which is predicted to cause temperatures in some regions of the UK to reach very high levels, the Cabinet Office will conduct a special meeting on Saturday afternoon.
According to meteorologists, there is an 80% possibility that the temperature will surpass the UK record of 38.7C (101.7F), which was established in Cambridge in 2019. The Met Office has issued its first-ever red warning for extreme heat on Tuesday, with a 50% risk that temperatures would surpass 40C (104F) anywhere in the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) raised its heat health warning from level three to level four after the first meeting, which will be presided over by Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse.
Providing safety tips for the upcoming heatwave, which is anticipated to continue until at least Tuesday of this next week. According to Professor Isabel Oliver, the head scientist for the UK Health Security Agency, individuals are recommended to take easy precautions to be safe in order to limit the number of deaths brought on by the heatwave.
The UK has issued its first red excessive heat warning as a result of the expected 40C temperature in England the following week. According to Prof. Isabel Oliver, the extra deaths from the heatwaves last year exceeded 1,600, and the temperatures predicted for next week in 2021 are “nowhere near” those levels. “Anyone could be affected”, she warned. Everyone can be impacted by these very high temperatures, she noted, “but obviously the most vulnerable remain those in older age groups and with those long-term conditions.”
For excessive heat on Monday and Tuesday, the Met Office has issued a red warning, its highest level, which includes London, Manchester, and York. Since the warning system was introduced last year, it has been issued just once. It indicates that:
• there is a threat to life and risk of serious illness, not just among the most vulnerable people; • modifications to working practises and daily routines are required;
• there is a possibility that water or mobile phone services could be affected by a power outage.
• delays in road, rail, and air travel; greater danger of water safety issues. Train operators advise customers to only travel when “necessary”
According to a No. 10 spokeswoman, “certain areas of the network next week to manage the hot weather and to avoid any potential damage” may require railroad speed restrictions.
Journeys would take “much longer and delays are inevitable if speed restrictions are enforced to keep passengers and railway personnel safe,” warned Network Rail’s Jake Kelly. Passengers have been warned by train crews to only travel only when “absolutely necessary.”
Next week, it’s expected that a few schools will be closed or finish early, and a few hospital appointments will have to be cancelled.
While devastating wildfires have started in Portugal, Spain, and the southwest of France in Europe, the rest of England, Wales, and southern Scotland will be under an amber heat warning.
