UK Issues Red Heat Alerts for 6 Regions as Temperatures Threaten to Top 40C

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 23

UKHSA issued its second-ever red heat health alert for six regions of England, while the Met Office posted a rare red weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday.
40C-plus temperatures are forecast, prompting advice to shut windows, doors and curtains as officials warn the heat has become an extreme-weather threat rather than a routine summer spell.
3,000 people died in the UK during the 2022 heatwave, broadcaster and scientist Laura Tobin said, recalling the first red alert as evidence that deadly impacts are no longer hypothetical.
1C of global warming has translated into roughly 3C to 4C of extra summer heat in southern England, and researchers say a 1976-style event would now run about 3C hotter.
2055 could bring a 5 billion-litre-a-day water shortfall in England; new modelling says a repeat of 1976 today would be 20% drier with a 10% bigger water deficit.