The Met Office has raised its heat health warning to an amber level in the South West, warning of 'significant impact' to the wider population. It is one of five regions across England to see the warning level increased, after a yellow heat health alert was implemented across six areas yesterday (June 7).
The amber alert is in effect from 9am tomorrow (Friday, June 9) and is set to last through the weekend until 9am on Monday, June 12. It has been updated by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) following latest Met Office forecasts, which predict a rapid rise in temperatures and high temperatures overnight.
On Wednesday, a yellow alert was in place for six regions - five of these have been updated to an amber alert and four new regions have been added to the yellow alert. The Met Office today announced a yellow thunderstorm warning in place for a number of areas over the weekend - this includes Bristol.
Read more: Storm Oscar: Met Office warning for thunder in Bristol issued for weekend
The amber and yellow alerts are the first of their kind to be issued this year. This is because the service operates from June 1 to September 30 - covering the country's generally warmer months. But, if high temperatures are predicted outside of this period, an extraordinary heat health alert will be issued.
An amber alert indicates that weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, and at this level we may begin to see some health impacts across the wider population, not just the most vulnerable.
The alert, updated at around 1.30pm today, said: "Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions."
It continues: "The impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce are possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating. There is a risk to vulnerable people living independently in the community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays).
"Temperatures will increase widely in the coming days with winds coming from a more southerly direction. This brings an increased chance of heat-health alert criteria being met across all regions. With increasingly humid air and light winds through the weekend, overnight temperatures will be uncomfortable for many, with minimum temperatures widely being in the mid to high teens."
An amber alert is in place in:
- East Midlands
- West Midlands
- East of England
- South East
- South West
As of today, a yellow alert has also been issued in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions of England. London remains at this level.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris spoke about the risk of thunderstorms too, and added: “Although a plume of warm air will bring temperatures up to around 30C in some parts of England, it brings with it the risk of some impactful thunderstorms.
"The general focus area for Saturday has become better defined over the past 24 hours, which has resulted in sufficient confidence to issue a “Very Low Likelihood” Yellow Thunderstorm Warning. While not everyone in the warning area will see the heaviest showers, or even showers at all, some are likely to be torrential and thundery, with 30-40mm falling in an hour.
"Some spots affected by multiple showers could see in excess of 60mm within the warning period. It’s worth noting that this far from the event the main focus area could change as latest forecast information becomes available, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest forecast.
“It’s also important to note that this warmer air will also see relatively high night-time temperatures, often staying in the mid-teens Celsius for some.”
Actions you can take to stay safe in hot weather
While many people enjoy warmer summer weather, hot weather can cause some people to become unwell through overheating (becoming uncomfortably hot), dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
- keep out of the sun at the hottest time of the day, between 11am and 3pm
- if you are going to do a physical activity (for example exercise or walking the dog), plan to do these during times of the day when it is cooler such as the morning or evening
- keep your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun
- if you do go outside, cover up with suitable clothing such as an appropriate hat and sunglasses, seek shade and apply sunscreen
- drink plenty of fluids and limit your alcohol intake
- check on family, friends and neighbours who may be at higher risk of becoming unwell, and if you are at higher risk, ask them to do the same for you
- know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if you or someone else has them
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