Amber heat health alert in force as temperatures could hit 30C today

Sky News

5 hours ago

Temperatures could reach 30C today as a second amber heat health alert in two weeks came into force yesterday.
Temperatures reached 29C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on Friday, and the weather is forecast to climb over the next few days, the Met Office said.
The UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) alert, which covers London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England, will last until 6pm on Tuesday.
It also issued a yellow heat health alert for Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands over the same period.
An amber alert was previously issued for all regions in England on 19 June, the first time it had been used since September 2023.
The UKHSA alerts are designed to warn health and social care workers about possible significant impacts on their services - they are not public weather warnings.
The alerts in place over the coming days warn of a possible rise in weather-related deaths - particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions.
'Rise in temperatures over next few days'
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: "The big talking point at the moment is the rise in temperatures we're going to be seeing over the next few days."
Northwest England, parts of Northern Ireland and southern Scotland could see some rain today, and Scotland will see average temperatures for the time of year, but across England it could hit between 29C and 30C in the south east, the forecaster said.
There will also be some clouds and it will be quite blustery, but it will ease on Sunday.
On Sunday, temperatures will pick up, northwestern Scotland may still see rain, but everywhere else will be warmer, with expected highs of 30-31C in the southeast.
There will be a northwest and southeast split on Monday with a chance of it feeling wetter and windier across the northwest, but the heat will remain across central and southern regions.
Highs of 34C possible
Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said highs of 34C are possible on Monday - with a 20% chance of beating the hottest day in June record of 35.6C from 1976.
The likelihood of a record-breaking temperature on Monday could increase over the weekend as the day approaches.
If the temperature does exceed 35.6C it would make it the hottest start to Wimbledon ever - with the world-famous tennis tournament beginning on Monday.
The highest temperature for the opening day of the tournament so far came on 25 June 2001, with 29.3C at Kew Gardens.
Heatwave criteria are likely to be met in a few places on Sunday and Monday, mainly across parts of central and eastern England.
A heatwave is recorded when an area reaches a certain temperature - the level of which varies across the UK - for three consecutive days.
Robinson said there is some uncertainty over how quickly daytime temperatures will start to fall - but it is likely to happen from Tuesday.
She added that June is the first month of summer so higher temperatures are more likely in July and August.
However, a rapid analysis from scientists at World Weather Attribution found that June heatwaves in the South East - where there would need to be three consecutive days of temperatures above 28C - are about 10 times more likely due to climate change compared with the cooler pre-industrial climate.
It comes after 2023 brought the hottest June on record with heatwaves also seen in June 2017 and June 2020.
Last Saturday was the hottest day of 2025 so far, with a provisional temperature of 33.2C recorded in Charlwood, Surrey.