Met Office Amber Extreme heat warning
The current spell of hot weather across much of the UK has prompted the Met Office to issue two Extreme Heat Warnings.
This new type warning, external, issued under the National Severe Weather Warning Service, was introduced in early June in recognition of the impact heat has on health, infrastructure and businesses.
It has been developed in conjunction with Public Health England and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
One amber warning covers parts of South Wales, West Midlands, southwest England, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight until the end of Thursday, with the second amber warning for Northern Ireland valid Wednesday until the end of Friday.
With temperatures forecast to stay high both by day and night, the Met Office warns that the hot weather will bring potential health effects and transport disruption. Power cuts and loss of other services to homes and businesses are also possible.
This comes just days after the temperature at Ballywatticock hit 31.2 Celsius, provisionally making Saturday Northern Ireland's hottest day on record.
How is temperature measured?
Extreme heat episodes in the UK are becoming more frequent, prolonged and hotter.
According to the Met Office, warm spells have more than doubled in length, from 5.3 days in 1960-1991 to over 13 days between 2008 and 2017.
The impact of prolonged spells of heat can have a serious impact on health, causing severe illness in some, even death. During heatwaves in summer 2020, Public Health England figures say that there were 2,256 excess deaths linked to the hot weather.
This was the highest number since records began.
Dr Will Lang, Head of Civil Contingencies at the Met Office, said, "We know that the impacts of climate change are resulting in an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme heat events.
"Extreme heat has obvious potential consequences health in the UK, especially for vulnerable groups, but continued impacts around transport infrastructure, energy consumption and coastal areas will also inform when extreme heat warnings are issued."
UK extreme heat
Once issued, the amber or red Extreme Heat warnings will appear on the BBC Weather website, app as well as in TV, radio and social media forecasts.
The new warning is in addition to the existing Heat Health alerts, used by Public Health England to help primary health care providers manage provision during periods of extreme temperature.
