Rare amber warning for ‘extreme heat’ in North Wales issued by Met Office

A rare amber extreme heat warning has been issued by the Met Office with temperatures forecast to rise later this week for large parts of Wales and England.

Although temperatures will drop over the next couple of days after highs of 29C in areas such as Wrexham today, there remains uncertainty about how high they will rise to over the weekend and into early next week.

The unusual warning has been issued for Sunday 17 July, with the Met Office forecasting that in excess of 35C could be reached in the southeast, and more widely around 32C within the warning area.

Wrexham, most of Flintshire and parts of Denbighshire are included in the amber alert.

High temperatures could extend into the early part of next week and an extension of the warning will be considered in the coming days.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Rebekah Sherwin said: “Today and tomorrow (Monday 11 and Tuesday 12), temperatures are likely to peak at 33C in the southeast, with warm weather likely to continue throughout this week and it looks likely to ramp up late this week and into early next week.

“From Sunday and into Monday, temperatures are likely to be in excess of 35C in the southeast, although the details still remain uncertain.

“Elsewhere, temperatures could be fairly widely above 32C in England and Wales, and in the mid-to-high 20s Celsius further north.”

As part of the amber warning, the Met Office say:

• Population-wide adverse health effects are likely to be experienced, not limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to potential serious illness or danger to life. Government advice is that 999 services should be used in emergencies only; seek advice from 111 if you need non-emergency health advice.
• Substantial changes in working practices and daily routines likely to be required
• Significantly more people are likely to visit coastal areas, lakes and rivers leading to increased risk of water safety incidents
• Delays on roads and road closures are possible, along with delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, with potential for significant welfare issues for those who experience even moderate delays

Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, said: “Heat-health alerts have now been issued to the majority of the country, with temperatures set to remain consistently high throughout the duration of this week.

“Most of us can enjoy the hot weather when it arrives, but it is important to keep yourself hydrated and to find shade where possible when UV rays are strongest, between 11am and 3pm.

“If you have vulnerable family, friends and neighbours, make sure they are aware of how they can keep themselves protected from the warm weather.’’

Government advice is that 999 services should be used in emergencies only; seek advice from 111 if you need non-emergency health advice.

There have been reports from some national media that temperatures could reach 40C over the weekend.

The record high temperature in the UK is 38.7C, which was reached at Cambridge Botanic Garden on 25 July 2019.

However the Met Office’s Rebekah Sherwin added: “Weather forecast models are run hundreds of times to determine the most likely weather outcome. For late in next weekend and early next week, some runs of these models are allowing exceptionally high temperatures to develop, which is something we’ll be monitoring closely and adding details in the coming days.

“Some models have been producing maximum temperatures in excess of 40C in parts of the UK over the coming weekend and beyond.

“At longer time scales temperature forecasts become less reliable, so whilst these figures can’t be ruled out, they are still only a low probability.

“A number of weather scenarios are still possible and at the current time, mid- or perhaps high-30s are looking more likely.”