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14th Jun 2022

UK weather: Met Office issues three-day heat alert as temperatures are set to rocket to 34C

Kieran Galpin

https://twitter.com/johnpackwood/status/1536725944693555200

Let the national pool shortage commence

Just as the temperature increased this week, the Met Office has been forced to issue a three-day heat alert as temperatures are expected to hit 34C.

The NHS and the Met Office have launched a level two heat-health alert for the East Midlands, East of England, the southeast and the southwest. For the warning to be issued, there has to be a 60 per cent chance of a raging heatwave.

Similarly, a level one warning is encompassing northern England, where the chance of a heatwave is 30 per cent. There is also a 40 per cent chance for the West Midlands.

If the mere thought of the heat makes you excited about the beer garden, then you’ll be happy to know that the UK could be hotter than Portugal, Costa Rica and Cyprus. If you don’t like the heat, then you might want to vacation in Greenland for a while.

“Temperatures will continue to rise as we go through the week, becoming well above-average by Friday when many parts of the southern half of the UK are likely to exceed 30C and may even reach 34C in some places,” said Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Rudman.

Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at the UK Health Security Agency, told Metro: “During periods of hot weather it is especially important to keep checking on those who are most vulnerable, such as older people and those with heart or lung conditions.”

The RSPCA has also been forced to issue a warning, dubbing walking dogs in heat as a “silent killer.”

“The truth is walking dogs in hot weather can be a silent killer,” explained RSPCA dog welfare specialist Esme Wheeler.

She continued: “While the majority would never leave our dogs in a car on a hot day, or even take our dogs for a really long walk in the heat, many people may still be putting their dogs at risk even on a short walk, or taking them to places such as fields and beaches with little or no shade.”

She added: “We have long-campaigned that dogs die in hot cars, but this year we’re highlighting that dogs die on hot walks, too. The message remains very simple – never leave a dog in a hot car because ‘not long’ is too long, and when it comes to walks, ‘if in doubt, don’t go out.”‘

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