The Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for Thursday, with some parts of England facing temperatures of up to 38C. The warning covers London and parts of the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands and South Yorkshire from 9am to midnight on Thursday, as temperatures are expected to climb to 37C or 38C in some places.
Health alerts and safety advice
Amber health heat alerts are already in place for most of England, including the Midlands, South East, North West and South West, while a yellow alert is in force for the North East from Tuesday morning until Friday evening. Officials have urged people to take simple steps to stay safe, such as drinking plenty of water, checking on vulnerable friends and family, and avoiding the sun at the hottest part of the day.
The Met Office says that after a warm night, a spell of “very hot weather” will affect England on Thursday, with the highest temperatures in parts of the East, South East and Midlands, potentially affecting transport, infrastructure and health.
Drought conditions across England
Some places are facing their fifth heatwave in an extremely dry hot summer, as the UK battles with the growing spectre of worsening extreme weather fuelled by climate change, which is mostly driven by burning fossil fuels for power plants, vehicles, home heating and industry. Almost three quarters of England are now in drought, with farmers struggling with a lack of water, 27 million customers under hosepipe bans, the risk of wildfires and the impact on nature.
The Environment Agency (EA) said 71.3% of England is experiencing “flash drought”, as a dry start to August followed the country’s driest July on record. Flash drought is one which develops very quickly because of a combination of very low rainfall and high temperatures. The agency said the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and the South Downs became the latest areas to move into drought on Monday.
Wildfire in the New Forest
Firefighters have been battling a series of fires across the UK, including one in the New Forest National Park, Hampshire. The area hit by the blaze, which started after a van caught fire on the nearby A31 near Ringwood on Sunday, is protected heathland and home to a number of rare species, according to the New Forest National Park Authority.
