A chief at the country’s largest ambulance service has warned people to drink responsibly and avoid exercising outside amid a punishing heatwave which has seen record-breaking temperatures for June.
The country sweltered in exceptionally hot and humid weather for a second consecutive day on Thursday, with rare red weather warnings continuing into Friday.
Temperatures could reach 36C in London and 35C in Manchester, with Belfast and Cardiff looking at potential highs of 26C.
The Met Office said temperatures had reached 36.7C in Merryfield, Somerset, on Thursday afternoon, provisionally making it the UK’s hottest June day on record.
Schools and nurseries have been forced to closed and a hosepipe ban has been brought in for Kent amid surging demand.
Transport services have been disrupted and one rail operator has urged people not to travel for beach trips because of the extreme heat.
A 50-year-old man from from Cilfrew, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, died after entering the water at Aberavon beach on Wednesday, police said.
On Thursday evening, firefighters in Derbyshire continued battling a 500 square metre wildfire on Tintwistle Moor, with video showing billowing smoke and flames consuming trees.
Several hospitals have declared critical incidents amid the heatwave, with University Hospital Southampton being forced to cancel a number of planned operations and some outpatient appointments.
Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust both declared critical incidents on Wednesday.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) responded to its highest number of life-threatening emergencies ever on Wednesday, and its chief operating officer Craig Harman said they expect “demand to grow day on day over the next couple of days”.
As football fans prepare to cheer for England during Saturday’s Fifa World Cup game, Mr Harman has told people to drink responsibly. He advised people to drink “plenty of water” in between alcoholic beverages.
The chief told the Press Association that it is not just the elderly and people with underlying health conditions affected by the heat, adding: “I’m saying to people I need you to drink water even when you’re not thirsty, staying out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, and particularly not exercising outside and putting your body under additional heat and strain.”
LAS saw a 50% increase in life-threatening emergency calls compared with a typical Wednesday in June, with the number of cardiac arrests up 30%.
Meanwhile, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has said air conditioning should be rolled out to schools, offices and hospitals in the capital as it adapts to more intense and frequent heatwaves, as he launched the city’s first heat plan to keep Londoners safe.
The current heatwave is driven by a “heat-dome” – an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat – settling over western Europe and bringing extreme conditions across the continent.
Human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense.
Earlier, the Met Office extended its red warning until 9pm on Friday for London and parts of east and South East England, stretching across Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Kent – the first time it has issued red heat warnings over three consecutive days.
An amber heat warning is in place for a wider area on Friday, running to midnight, and taking in THE East Midlands, East of England, north-west England, south-west England, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
A yellow warning is in place for thunderstorms for south-west England on Thursday night, while swathes of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland face yellow warnings for thunderstorms on Friday.
Annie Shuttleworth, a Met Office meteorologist, said lightning is likely on Thursday night for some areas in the South West, with rain in more northern areas on Friday morning.
Eastern England is expected to see the highest temperatures on Friday, she added, but things will “finally cool down this weekend”.
Wales has seen its hottest June day on record on Thursday, with 35.9C recorded in Cardiff, meanwhile, Northern Ireland has seen the previous record high for June matched after a temperature of 30.8C was reached in Castlederg.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) issued an electricity margin notice – which calls on companies to make additional capacity available – for Friday evening due to the temperatures.
A NESO spokesperson said: “Our forecasts are showing tight margins on the electricity system for tomorrow evening (Friday).
“An Electricity Margin Notice (EMN) has been issued to the market. This is a routine tool, and means we are asking market participants to make any additional generation capacity they may have available.
“The EMN does not mean electricity supply is at risk.”
