A new yellow heat health alert has been issued across the south of England and parts of the Midlands, as more hot weather is expected to reach the UK this weekend.
The warning is in place from midday on Saturday 4 July until 5pm on Wednesday 8 July and covers the East Midlands, South East, South West, east of England and London.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the hot weather could have an impact across health and social care services.
It comes after the hottest UK temperature for June was recorded last month.
The Met Office has said that temperatures can be expected to rise on the weekend, with a return of heatwave conditions looking “increasingly likely”.
Tony Wisson, Met Office deputy chief forecaster, said: “The forecast for this weekend suggests that temperatures could approach high 20C across parts of England, perhaps 30C in parts of the southeast, with values of mid to high 20C in Wales.”
“Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.”
The UKHSA says that yellow alerts are issued when minor impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the hot weather.
This includes increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people, greater risk to life of vulnerable people, higher potential for it to become very warm indoors, and a possible increase in water-related incidents like cold-water shock and drowning.
The agency issued a rare red heat health alert for several regions in the UK last weekend, with the rest under amber alert.
The Met Office reported a new record temperature for June on Friday, at 37.3C, recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk. It is awaiting verification that this was beaten in Lingwood, in Norfolk, by a temperature of 37.7C.
Either surpasses the 35.6C set in Southampton in June 1976.
Commenting on the high temperatures last week, Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, Greg Wolverson, said: “This has been unprecedented heat for the month of June and provides further evidence of how high temperature extremes are becoming increasingly common in the UK as a result of human-induced climate change.”
Forecasters have said that the weather event was caused by a “heat dome” which settled over western Europe and now travels eastwards. Over 1,300 deaths linked to the heatwave were recorded across the continent, according to the World Health Organisation, with 1,000 of these being in France.
The Met Office’s forecast for the next five days:
Wednesday
A fine day for many with variable cloud and sunny spells. Feeling warm in the south and east. A few showers possible in the north, ahead of rain and stronger winds reaching Northern Ireland and western Scotland in the afternoon.
Thursday
Cloud and patchy rain clearing the far south through the day. Largely dry elsewhere with sunny spells. Remaining windy in the northeast. Cool in the northwest, warm in the southeast.
Friday to Sunday
Areas of cloud and rain continuing to affect northern regions into the weekend. Fine and dry further south with temperatures gradually rising under the spells of strong sunshine.
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