The Met Office and the United Kingdom Health Insurance Agency (UKHSA) have issued Level 2 health warnings for much of southern and central England, with Level 1 warnings for the north of England. This is due to the rise in temperatures that could reach as high as 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 F) in parts of Southeast America today, which would surpass the previous record for this year of 27.5 C (81.5 F). scheduled for May at Heathrow Airport. Temperatures could rise further to 34 degrees Celsius by Friday in the southeast, making it warmer than the Greek islands of Santorini, Mykonos and Zakynthos, as well as Los Angeles and parts of Barbados. Click here to see the weather forecast in your area However, Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Center, warned that climate change could be the reason behind the high temperatures. He said: “Climate change has raised the average temperature in the UK’s summers and also increases the likelihood of more extreme temperatures during hot seasons and heat waves. “Reaching 34C in June is a rare, but not unprecedented, event in the historical climate records for the United Kingdom. “But if it happened this week, it would be remarkable that it would have happened in three days during the last six June.” He added that the other days were June 21, 2017 and June 29, 2019. Prior to that, the only previous June where England had seen a number of stations reach 34 C or higher were 3 June 1947, 29 June 1957 and 26-28 June 1976. Met Office forecaster Greg Ducherst added that the last part of this week is expected to be “very hot”. He said: “The vast majority of England and Wales will see a wonderful day on Wednesday, albeit slightly different in Northern Ireland and Scotland, where it will be cloudy and rainy. “It will be very hot especially in the southeast, with the temperature reaching 28 degrees Celsius, which would make it the hottest day of the year so far. “This will be overcome on Thursday, with the mercury rising again to 29 degrees Celsius before it reaches 33 degrees Celsius and even 34 degrees on Friday. Read more: ‘Extremely strong’ pollen that causes worse than usual allergic fever symptoms due to hot weather, says Met Office “So it will be very hot as we move on to the next part of the week.” A heat wave is defined as three consecutive days with the maximum daily temperatures covering or exceeding the temperature limit of the heat wave. Agostinho Sousa, UKHSA’s Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection, said: “During hot weather, it is especially important to keep an eye on those who are most vulnerable, such as the elderly and those with heart or lung disease. “Watch out for signs of heat exhaustion and follow our simple health tips to beat the heat.”
