UK heat alerts issued with temperatures set to reach 33°C

Summer has hit the UK a few weeks early with London set to give holiday hotspots like Athens a run for its money.

A days-long heatwave will send temperatures soaring to as high as 30°C.

Bank holiday Monday could see the hottest May day on record with as high as 34°C in London on Monday.

But the UK Health Security Agency has issued five amber heat health alerts – the second of the three alert tiers – during this stretch of sunny weather.

They will cover the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London and South East from 9am on Friday until 5pm next Wednesday.

Public health officials warn the balmy weather can cause a greater risk to life for vulnerable people, such as the elderly.

The alerts say significant effects will be likely across health and social care services, including a rise in deaths.

There will also be an ‘increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm’.

UV levels – sunrays that can hasten signs of aging, worsen skin conditions and even lead to skin cancer – are expected to be high.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, stressed that people need to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated.

You should also spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm. Or take the shade with you by wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

Mitchell added: ‘Whether you are enjoying being outside abroad or at home, it’s important to protect yourself from the sun.

‘Sunburn doesn’t only happen when it’s hot – it can happen on cooler or cloudier days too.’

The mercury breaking 30°C in May has happened before in the UK, but is very rare, the Met Office says.

The highest temperatures recorded in May was 32.8°C in Camden and Greenwich in 1922.

Forecasters expect this record to be smashed soon though, when the southeast is roasted by 33°C this weekend.

London will be among the warmest major cities in northern Europe, hitting 28°C today.

Birmingham will be an ever-so-slightly cooler 33,°C while Manchester and Bristol follow at 26°C, Newcastle on 25°C and Liverpool on 24°C.

This is something the UKHSA is all too aware off, hence the ‘extraordinary’ out-of-season alerts, the agency’s public health consultant said.

Dr Anya Gopfert told the BBC: ‘This first heat-health alert of the summer season is an important reminder that sustained periods of warm weather can pose a real risk to the most vulnerable.’

Behind May’s unbearable heat is the unpredictable jet stream – the powerful winds that influence weather – and climate change.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@usnewsrank.com.

For more stories like this, check our news page.