The UK’s Met Office has issued a Red Extreme Heat Warning for Wednesday and Thursday, with June’s all-time daily record temperature of 35.6°C forecast to be broken.
According to the Met Office, temperatures will quickly rise on Monday (June 22) and are forecast to reach 34°C in southern parts of England.
The heat will build further into Tuesday (June 23), with highs of 37°C forecast for southern England and 35°C in southeast Wales. The peak of the heatwave is forecast for Wednesday (June 23) and Thursday (June 24), when temperatures are expected to climb to at least 39°C and there remains a chance of this being exceeded in places.
The red warning joins the existing Amber Extreme Heat Warnings, which stretch from Monday (June 22) through to the end of Thursday (June 24), covering much of southern and central England as well as much of Wales.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mark Sidaway, said, “Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events and we’re expecting severe and significant impacts from this heatwave, with health impacts likely for many, even beyond those who are normally more vulnerable to the heat. The last time the UK recorded temperatures this high was in July 2022, but on this occasion the heat is expected to be accompanied by high humidity.
“As well as very high daytime temperatures, there will be consecutive nights where temperatures do not drop below 20°C, which is called a Tropical Night. This will make it very hard for people to recover from the daytime heat, exacerbating the heat stress impacts.”
According to the Met Office, the frequency and intensity of heatwaves has increased worldwide, with projections indicating that hot spells will become more frequent in our future climate, particularly over the southeast of the UK. Temperatures are projected to rise in all seasons, but the heat would be most intense in summer.
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