he With Office has warned people’s lives could be at risk as it indicated it is likely that a new record temperature could be reached in the UK early next week.
Meteorologists gave an 80% chance that the mercury will exceed Britain’s record temperature of 38.7C (101.7F) Cambridge in 2019, with the current heat wave reaching its peak on Tuesday.
Temperatures are set to soar this weekend and the Met Office has issued an orange warning of heat covering much of the city England and Wales from Sunday to Tuesday.
Saturday will start with cloudy skies and scattered showers in northern areas, before turning dry across the country as extreme heat sets in.
Daytime temperatures for Saturday are forecast to be around 27C in London26C in Cardiff, 23C in Belfast and 21C in Edinburgh.
On Sunday, the mercury rises to 30C in the capital, 27C in Cardiff, 24C in Belfast and 23C in Edinburgh.
Temperatures are expected to rise a few more degrees across the country on Tuesday – into the mid-thirties for much of England and Wales.
There is a 50% chance that temperatures will reach 40C somewhere in the UK, likely along the A1 corridor, with the Met Office issuing its first-ever red warning of extreme heat.
The UK Health Security Agency has raised its heat warning from level three to level four – a “national emergency”.
Level four is reached “when a heat wave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend beyond the health and social care system…At this level, illness and death can occur in the fit and healthy, not just those at risk,” it said. .
A red warning from the Met Office, for Monday and Tuesday, covers an area from London to Manchester and as far as the Vale of York.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: “If people have vulnerable relatives or neighbours, now is the time to ensure they take appropriate measures to cope with the heat because if the forecast is as we think it will be in the red warning area, human life is at risk.
“This is a very serious situation.”
A spokesperson for No. 10 said speed limits may be needed next week on “some parts of the network to manage the warm weather and prevent possible damage”.
Jake Kelly, of Network Rail, warned that journeys will take “significantly longer and delays are likely as speed limits are put in place to keep passengers and railway staff safe”.
Train operators have warned passengers not to travel on Mondays and Tuesdays unless their journey is “absolutely necessary”.
Some southern schools are also considering closing on these days – and the NEU Education Union has issued a statement saying it would support headteachers in making this decision.
Downing Street said Cobra met on Thursday during the heat wave and talks with sectors, including the NHS, “will continue to work closely with all those sectors today, over the weekend and early next week”.
Meanwhile, motorists have been advised to try to make their journeys outside of the hottest times of the day, especially if they have older cars.
North Wales Police said a paddle boarder has died after getting into trouble in the water off Conwy Morfa beach on Thursday night.
Officers were called in at 10:14 p.m. and attended alongside the Coast Guard, RNLI and ambulance service, taking two victims to the hospital in Bangor, where one of them, a 24-year-old woman, died.