A yellow heat health warning has been issued for London as temperatures are set to soar to 32C, with forecasters predicting a heatwave to sweep across the UK this week.
All areas of England, except the North East and North West have been included in the warning, which is in place from 9am on Monday until 11pm on Wednesday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned that expected hot weather may have “significant impacts” on the health and social care sector, particularly across the South East and London.
London is set to bask in 30C heat on Monday and 32C heat on Tuesday, which would make it the hottest day of the year.
The capital will enjoy “very warm, locally hot weather” over the next few days, the Met Office has said.
The forecaster has predicted non-stop sunshine until Thursday afternoon, when it could be interrupted by thunderstorms.
A yellow thunderstorm warning has been issued for most of England and parts of Wales from midday to midnight on Thursday, with flash flooding possible.
A hot start to the week in places, with the risk of thunderstorms from midweek ⚡
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 28, 2024
Find out all the details in the forecast below 👇 pic.twitter.com/zFIk1KlfjN
The mercury reached 31.9C at St James’s Park in central London on July 19 beating the previous record high for 2024, 30.5C recorded in Wisley, Surrey, on June 26.
If temperatures stay about 28C for three days in London then a heatwave will be declared.
The heatwave threshold is met when a location records at least three consecutive days with maximum temperatures exceeding a designated value, according to the Met Office.
This is 25C for most of the UK, but rises to 28C in London and its surrounding area, where temperatures are typically higher.
Many parts of the country will see temperatures four to five degrees warmer than average for this time in July, the Met Office said.
The warm surge is down to a wave of high pressure across the country and warm air rising from the south, creating dry, fine and sunny conditions and bringing temperatures up.
Simon Partridge, forecaster at Met Office, said: “There is certainly potential that it could become an actual official heatwave, because in the spells you’ve had before it hasn’t actually met all the criteria.
“If there’s not, it’s very close to it, and if you’re out and about and a member of the public then it’s going to feel like a heatwave anyway, because also overnight things are going to turn a little bit more humid and muggy day-on-day as well.”
