Health warnings issued as heatwave returns

THE latest scorching heatwave has arrived with temperatures expected to climb to 30C every day for the next four days at least.

With a bit of luck, things will have cooled down by Monday, when there will probably only be highs in the mid-20s and there could even be some rain. But while we are very unlikely to see the kind of record temperatures last month’s heatwave brought, this one is expected to last longer.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)’s amber alert covers southern and central England, including Leicestershire, and began midday yesterday and continues until 6pm on Saturday. People are urged to look out for those who are older or with existing health conditions, as well as young children to ensure they stay healthy in the heat.

The Leicester forecast from the BBC Weather Centre is for highs of 31C today, 33C on Thursday, 31C on Friday, 32C on Saturday and 30C on Sunday. The amber heat alert is one stage lower than the most serous Level Four red warning issued in last month’s heatwave, but the amber alert does require social and healthcare services “to target specific actions at high-risk groups”.

“Heatwave thresholds” – which are met at different temperatures in different parts of the country – are likely to be hit in much of the UK. In Leicestershire, a heatwave is described as three or more days with the temperature reaching at least 27C. The heatwave threshold varies for different parts of the UK between 25C to 28C.

With the latest heatwave coming after months of low rain, which have left the countryside and urban parks and gardens tinder-dry, households in some areas are being urged not to light fires or have barbecues.

The Met Office’s fire severity index, an assessment of how severe a fire could become if one were to start, is very high for most of England and Wales, and will reach “exceptional” for much of England by the weekend.

Scientists warn that the likelihood of droughts occurring is becoming higher due to climate change, driven by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and other human activities. Climate change is also making heatwaves more intense, frequent and likely – with last month’s record temperatures made at least 10 times more likely because of global warming, and “virtually impossible” without it, research shows.