Yellow heat health alerts came into effect across central and southern England on Friday morning, with temperatures forecast to reach 30C (86F) in places – even as the UK braces for rain that is unlikely to be enough to ease a deepening drought.
The alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), cover the East and West Midlands, eastern England, London, south-east England and south-west England from 09:00 BST on Friday until 09:00 on Sunday. The UKHSA warned that heat is expected to cause minor impacts for health and social care services, with an increased risk to life for vulnerable people, and that water-related incidents, including cold water shock and drowning, may increase.
“Yellow heat health alerts cover central and southern England as weekend rain may not ease drought conditions.”
The heat alert comes as large parts of the UK remain in the grip of drought conditions. A drought was officially declared for parts of north and mid-Wales on Thursday, while the rest of Wales, along with much of central, southern and eastern England, is in the “prolonged dry weather” category – one stage below a drought. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said much of eastern Scotland has moved into “water scarcity” status. Hosepipe bans are already in force for millions of customers across eastern and southern England.
Temperatures on Friday will reach 25-28C widely across central, southern and eastern England, with a few spots hitting 30C, before a modest change arrives over the weekend. “The high pressure has been a key feature of the UK’s weather forecast over the last few weeks, bringing above-average temperatures and extremely dry conditions for many,” said Met Office chief forecaster Steve Willington. “However, we will begin to see a modest change as a weak weather front pushes south across the UK on Saturday bringing some much-needed rain, albeit light and mainly concentrated in the North and West. Behind the front, a showery air mass will bring potentially heavy showers, some of which may be thundery.”
But the rain will be patchy, especially in the south and east. Met Office deputy chief forecaster Greg Wolverson said: “Although there is a return to rain in the forecast, we have just come out of an exceptionally dry spell and the forecast rain is unlikely to be widespread or substantial. Many areas are likely to continue experiencing prevailing dry conditions for the foreseeable future, especially in southern England.” Wisley in Surrey has now gone well over a month without any measurable rainfall.
The wet weather is expected to be much patchier further south and east, with large swathes of England and Wales forecast to see just a few millimetres at most. The rain will bring an end to a 19-day heatwave at Usk in Monmouthshire and Exeter in Devon, but for many the dry spell will persist. The uncertainty over whether the rain will be enough to alleviate the drought remains a pressing question as millions of motorists take to the roads for summer getaways – the AA said around 6.3 million drivers are planning a road trip of more than 100 miles between Friday and Thursday.