Yellow heat health alert issued as temperatures expected to reach 30C early next week

PARTS of Britain face 30C next week, with health chiefs warning the weather could pose “serious” health risks to some.

This has prompted health chiefs to issue a yellow heat health alert, from Monday as a period of warm weather is set to move in from next week.

It means older and vulnerable people’s health is at greater risk and they could need to use more NHS services.

Even a moderate rises in temperature can lead to health problems like dehydration, heat exhaustion, and deadly heatstroke, especially in older people.

Hot weather can also worsen asthma symptoms for some people, including increased breathing difficulties, wheezing, and coughing.

Last summer, around 1,311 people in England died from heat-related causes, according to official figures – up from 870 the year before.

The health alert begins on Monday August 11, at 12pm and lasts until 6pm on Wednesday August 13.

It covers Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, East of England, London, the South East and South West.

Temperatures will begin to rise in the south from Sunday evening, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Dexter “draws warm air up from the southwest across the UK”, the Met Office said.

They are expected to exceed 30C in places across parts of central, southern and eastern England on Monday and Tuesday.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Steven Keates, said: “We’re confident that temperatures will increase markedly by the start of next week, reaching the low 30s Celsius in parts of England on Monday and perhaps the mid 30s in a few places on Tuesday.

“However, the length of this warm spell is still uncertain, and it is possible that high temperatures could persist further into next week, particularly in the south.”

“Ex-Dexter sets the wheels in motion for an uptick in temperatures, but the weather patterns then maintaining any hot weather are rather more uncertain”.