UK heatwave: Temperatures to hit low 30s as heat-health alert issued

Parts of the UK are predicted to experience a heatwave over the next few days, the Met Office has said.

Southern and eastern areas will see consistently high temperatures over the next week.

On Friday, parts of the country are predicted to hit 28C (82.4F) - beginning the run of hot days.

The forecaster and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a level 2 heat-health alert warning ahead of the hot weather.

It will come into force from Monday 11 July until Friday 15 July, and covers the east of England, south-east and London.

The heat-health alert scale is designed to help healthcare workers manage through periods of extreme temperatures and has four levels.

Level 2, called alert and readiness, is triggered as soon as there is a 60% risk that temperature thresholds will be reached in one or more regions on at least two consecutive days and the night in between.

The Met Office declares a heatwave when it records at least three days in a row with maximum temperatures exceeding a set temperature - which varies in different areas of the country.

The UK previously experienced a heatwave three weeks ago, with 17 June marking the hottest day of the year so far.

Northern Ireland had its hottest day of 2022 so far on Thursday, with highs of 23.5C.

The north-west of England is expected to buck the trend seen elsewhere, with cloud and light rain expected over the weekend and into next week.

BBC Weather presenter Nick Miller said: "Temperatures are set to rise this weekend lasting into a least the first half of next week.

"Parts of England and Wales will see highs in the upper 20s and low 30s Celsius for several days and meet the criteria for an official heatwave to be declared.

"Some places are likely to see their highest temperature of the year so far."

Heatwaves are becoming more likely and more extreme because of human-induced climate change.

The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began, and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

In England, there were 2,500 excess deaths in the summer of 2020 as a result of hot weather, while heat-related deaths in the UK could treble in 30 years, the British Red Cross predicts.