Britain issues first Amber Extreme Heat warning

Britain’s Met Office issued its first ever amber extreme heat warning on Monday, saying unusually high temperatures expected western areas and continuing high night-time temperatures created potential risks to health.

The alert is the first issued by the Met Office since the national meteorological service launched its extreme heat national severe weather warning system at the start of June to help better inform people of the risks hot weather can bring.

We have issued the first ever Extreme Heat Warning as large areas of the UK will continue to see hot conditions this week.
For further details see our press release 👉 https://t.co/nJUJPyQNWE pic.twitter.com/lYSbFOV3L1

— Met Office (@metoffice) July 19, 2021

Much of Britain has seen heatwave conditions in recent days but temperatures are expected to rise further, possibly reaching 33 degrees Celsius in some western parts of the country, the Met Office said.

“The impacts of extreme heat can be many and varied. It can have health consequences, especially for those who are particularly vulnerable, and it can impact infrastructure, including transport and energy, as well as the wider business community,” the Met Office said in a statement.

A record-breaking heatwave this month killed hundreds of people in Canada and the United States. Europe also has been unusually hot and flooding has devastated parts of Germany, Belgium and other countries.

The first ever Extreme Heat Warning has been issued for parts of South Wales, West Midlands, southern and southwestern England.#WeatherAware #Heatwave

Here is some more information about the warning 👇 pic.twitter.com/vuqckNUPJh

— Met Office (@metoffice) July 19, 2021