The Met Office has urged households in 71 areas across the UK to gather torches and batteries from Monday as extreme heat warnings come into effect. The national weather forecaster has issued amber heat warnings for Monday that could possibly bring power cuts.
Heat Warning Timings and Temperatures
The weather warnings will come into force at 1am on Monday (June 22) and will end at 11.59pm on Tuesday (June 23). It further warned that a "developing hot spell through Monday and Tuesday will likely lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure". Temperatures are forecast to soar to as high as 35C on Monday and Tuesday, the Met Office has predicted.
Advice for Households
As the heat levels rise and the possibility of power cuts increase, the forecaster has urged households to keep torch and batteries with them during heatwave conditions. In the event of a power cut, the Met Office shares the following advice:
- If electricity is crucial for any medical equipment you have, please contact your DNO at any time as they may be able to put you on their Priority Register for assistance during any power outage.
- Make sure you have multiple torches along with extra batteries.
- Make sure you keep your mobile phone charged so you can make calls in case of an emergency.
- Keep fridges and freezers closed, with a blanket over as they will stay cold for many hours.
- Keep important documents safe and handy.
- Look out for elderly neighbours and ensure they are prepared for a possible power cut.
- Switch off appliances - turn off items such as irons, ovens, electric fires and fryers as they could pose a hazard if the power comes back on when you are not there.
- For people using a digital landline who don't have a mobile phone, or who live in an area with poor/no mobile signal, speak to your communications provider about additional support they can offer you in advance.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster's Statement
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree said: "The forecast heatwave is developing into an impactful severe weather event, with record breaking June temperatures and very high humidity. The combination of heat and humidity will be oppressive and bring impacts across society from public health and infrastructure, to power and water supplies. As well as very high daytime temperatures, there will be consecutive nights where temperatures do not drop below 20C, 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."
Full List of Affected Areas
The 71 areas impacted by the extreme heat warnings on Monday and Tuesday include:
East Midlands: Derby, Derbyshire, Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland.
East of England: Bedford, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Suffolk, Thurrock.
South East: Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Greater London, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Medway, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Surrey, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham.
South West: Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Wiltshire.
Wales: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan.
West Midlands: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Warwickshire, West Midlands Conurbation, Worcestershire.
