UKHSA issues yellow heat health alert for England as heatwave set to hit next week amid North African blast

The affected areas are North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, and South West. The agency said the yellow heat alert may cause minor impacts across the health and social care sector, including increased use of healthcare services by the vulnerable and an increase in risk of mortality amongst vulnerable individuals.

Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said: “Some central and southern areas are likely to see temperatures approaching the values needed for heatwave conditions. Heatwave conditions need to remain in situ for three consecutive days, and by the middle of next week it is possible that some parts of the UK could be reaching heatwave thresholds.”

In the UK, a heatwave is identified as an extended period of unusually high temperatures compared to the typical conditions for that specific time and location. The Met Office sets a temperature threshold for each county, and if the daily maximum temperature meets or exceeds this threshold for at least three consecutive days, it is considered a heatwave.

These thresholds range from 28C in London and some home counties to 25C in northern England, Devon and Cornwall, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and most of Wales. In May, Chertsey in Surrey nearly reached its threshold of 28C, recording the highest temperature of 2024 so far at 27.5C.