WIREDGOV

Parts of England will see temperatures climb to highs of 30°C by day, but a key factor will be the night time temperatures. Lows in some areas may not fall below 18°C.

Head of Health Forecasting at the Met Office, Wayne Elliott said: “We have been working closely with the Department for Health to develop this service, which is aimed at those vulnerable to high temperatures, especially the elderly. The last time a heat-health warning was issued was in the hot summer of 2006.”

The Heat-Health Watch is currently at level two with the probability of heatwave conditions at 70%. We expect this to increase to level three during the course of the week.

Heatwaves can be dangerous, especially for the elderly, those with chronic diseases and the very young. Advice on how to reduce the risk, either for yourself or somebody you know, can be obtained from NHS Direct or your local pharmacist.

It will be predominately dry and sunny this week, but the build up of heat and humidity will set off some thunderstorms in parts of the UK.

Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, Martin Young added: “Temperatures are likely to build through the first part of this week, with a 60% chance of reaching 33°C (91°F) by mid-week, before becoming less hot by the weekend.”

Even though England will see the highest temperatures, all of the UK will have some very warm weather, with the continuing chance of thunderstorms in a few places leading to high rainfall totals locally.

The latest ‘Heat-Health’ Warnings: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/heathealth/index.html

The latest UK weather forecast:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html

For more information please contact the Met Office Press Office on 01392 886655

Note to Editors:

* The Met Office is the UK’s National Weather Service, providing 24x7 world-renowned scientific excellence in weather, climate and environmental forecasts and severe weather warnings for the protection of life and property.
* The Met Office Hadley Centre is the UK’s foremost centre for climate change research. Partly funded by Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the Ministry of Defence.