Further high 34C (93.2F) is expected to reach some parts of England by Friday, prompting a Met Office expert to warn of a “rare” climate change event. The Met Office and the United Kingdom Health Insurance Agency (UKHSA) have issued a Level 2 health alert for much of the south and central England, with a Level 1 warning for the north of England. Wednesday’s heat of 28 degrees Celsius surpassed the previous year’s record of 27.5 C (81.5 F) set in May at Heathrow Airport. A hot spell is set to reach 34 ° C on 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. Announcing Wednesday as the hottest day of the year, the Met Office wrote on Twitter “to expect it to be won again this week.” But the scorching heat in the south is in stark contrast to the weather in north-west Scotland, where temperatures are struggling to exceed mid-adolescence. Click here to see the weather forecast in your area 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, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, said: “During hot weather, it is especially important to continue to monitor 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.”
