Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo will both close two hours early on Thursday 13 August as the Met Office forecasts temperatures could reach 38C in parts of England. The early closure is to support the wellbeing of animals, visitors and staff during the hottest part of the afternoon.
Early closure details
Both zoos, run by conservation charity ZSL, will close at 4pm with last entry at 3pm, instead of the usual 6pm. The decision follows an amber weather warning for extreme heat, in place from 9am until midnight, and an amber heat health alert from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
In a statement on social media, the zoos said: "Due to the forecast hot weather, the Zoo will close at 4pm (last entry 3pm) on Thursday 13 August. We're looking forward to welcoming visitors as usual during the day, but are temporarily closing earlier to help support the wellbeing of our animals, visitors and staff during the hottest part of the afternoon."
Scale of the zoos
Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire is the UK's biggest zoo, housing more than 10,000 animals across 600 acres and welcoming close to one million visitors each year. London Zoo in Regent's Park is smaller, covering 36 acres, but its 8,000 animals attract over 1.2 million visitors annually.
Both sites closed early during the heatwave at the end of June, when temperatures were in the high 30s.
Forecast and impact
The Met Office says temperatures could hit 33C on Wednesday before reaching highs of 38C on Thursday. Chief forecaster Chris Bulmer said: "While the peak heat will be more short-lived than recent heatwaves, temperatures widely into the mid-30s Celsius on Thursday brings the potential for impacts for some, which is why a Met Office warning has been issued. High pressure is now becoming dominant and temperatures will build day by day. Southerly and south-easterly winds will also tap into the hot conditions over Europe which helps develop this further notable heat in what has been a hot and dry summer so far for many in the south of the UK."
The warning covers Bedfordshire and London, with possible impacts on transport, infrastructure and health. This is the fifth heatwave of the summer in the UK.
