The UK is bracing itself for an intense bout of extreme heat, as temperatures are set to soar to a sizzling 35C by Tuesday. The mercury has already broken through 30C in parts of the country on Friday, but things will only get hotter from here.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat, which will kick in at 01:00 BST on Monday and cover much of southern and eastern England, as well as parts of South Wales. This will remain in place until 23:59 on Tuesday, with temperatures predicted to peak at 34-35C in south-east England.
Even though Scotland, Northern Ireland, and some northern and western areas of England will experience milder conditions over the weekend, temperatures will still rise significantly from Sunday. Parts of the Midlands, Wales, and southern England could see highs of 27-31C on Sunday, while northern England might reach 23-24C.
The prolonged hot days and very warm nights are expected to bring a range of impacts, including heat-related health risks for vulnerable individuals, potential delays in travel networks and power supplies, and even scattered intense thunderstorms. The UK Health Security Agency has already issued separate amber and yellow heat health alerts across large areas of England.
The current hot spell follows a record-breaking May for the UK, with scientists attributing it to human-induced climate change. They warn that such extreme heat events will become more common in the country's changing climate, especially in the south-east, making it 'virtually certain' that human influence has increased their occurrence and severity.