A water company has sent an urgent text message to millions of customers ahead of what could be a record-breaking temperature high in the UK. Concerns are mounting over the 'national emergency' with a Met Office red extreme heat warning issued for next Monday and Tuesday.
It has prompted Severn Trent to send an urgent message to the eight million people it provides with water every day for them to help conserve water over the next few days. It said people need to work with them to make sure water continues flowing for all.
The message sent on Friday afternoon reads: "We're set for a hot weekend, and we need your help to make sure there's enough lovely water to keep your community hydrated.
"Do your bit by putting away the hoses and jet washers and turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. That way we'll keep the water flowing for all. Thanks."
Severn Trent serves 4.6m households and business and provides two billion litres of drinking water every day. It covers areas of South West England, Wales and the Midlands.
The Met Office has warned that people’s lives could be at risk as it indicated it is likely that a new UK record temperature could be set early next week. Meteorologists gave an 80% chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C (101.7F) set in Cambridge in 2019, with the current heatwave set to peak on Tuesday.
There is a 50% chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK, likely along the A1 corridor, with the Met Office issuing its first ever red warning for extreme heat. The UK Health Security Agency has increased its heat health warning from level three to level four – a “national emergency”.
Level four is reached “when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system… At this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups,” it said.
The Met Office red warning, for Monday and Tuesday, covers an area from London up to Manchester, and up to the Vale of York.
