Experts have warned that thousands of people could die next week during the heat wave, when temperatures will reach a dangerously high peak.
The Met Office issued its first red warning of extreme heat on Monday and Tuesday, warning that lives could be at risk if the mercury appears to rise to 40°C.
A second emergency meeting of COBRA was held on Saturday, after which Cabinet Minister Kit Malthouse urged the British to do the ‘neighbouring thing’ and check on the vulnerable.
Health officials fear those living alone on the upper floors are among those most at risk, as was the case during the deadly heat wave that scorched Paris nearly 20 years ago.
Penny Endersby, CEO of the Met Office, described the “extreme heat we are predicting right now is absolutely unprecedented.”
In a dismal video shared online, she added: ‘Here in the UK we are used to treating a hot spell as an opportunity to go play in the sun. This isn’t that kind of weather.’
Schools have announced that they will close on Mondays and Tuesdays, telling students that they “cannot keep the temperature in many of our rooms at acceptable and safe levels.”
People have also been urged not to travel as the scorching temperatures could melt highways and railroads.
Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, told the Guardian: ‘We could see 1,500 to 2,000 dead from this one heat period alone.’
Professor Kevin McConway, professor emeritus of applied statistics at the Open University, told the paper: “I think, assuming the weather forecasts are roughly correct, it’s very likely that there will be hundreds or thousands of additional deaths from the heat in the near future.” . few days.
“It’s possible that because there have been so many warnings about the high temperatures to come, people and businesses will take more precautions than usual during a heat wave, which could lower the number of additional deaths.” I hope that happens, but I fear there will still be excessive mortality on a large scale.’
Speak with LBCFormer head of government Sir David King said it is “very likely the hottest heat wave we’ve ever experienced in the UK”.
He said: ‘If you are even in the shade at a heat of 40°C and a humidity of 80%, you will not live long. You just can’t get rid of the excess heat.’
Sir David added that his advice would be to ‘stay indoors’ and recalled the 2003 heat wave in France that killed 15,000 people.
The expert told host Matt Frei, “You’re citing numbers of thousands of deaths.
“I’m afraid the additional deaths on Monday and Tuesday should be expected in about that range — a few thousand to 10,000.”
Daytime temperatures for Saturday are forecast to be around 27°C in London, 26°C in Cardiff, 23°C in Belfast and 21°C in Edinburgh.
On Sunday it can reach 30°C in the capital, 27°C in Cardiff, 24°C in Belfast and 23°C in Edinburgh.
Temperatures are expected to rise several more degrees on Tuesday – into the mid-30s for much of England and Wales.
There is a 50% chance that temperatures will reach 40°C somewhere in the UK, likely along the A1 corridor which runs from London to Scotland through counties such as Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and the North East, with the Met Office having its first ever red warning for 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, and not just in at-risk groups,’ it said.
Britons, meanwhile, are trying to buy fans and looser clothing to help them stay cool during the heat wave.
Retailer Toolstation said fan sales are up 641% in the past week compared to the week before as merchants struggle to keep their cool.
The company also said sales of builder’s shorts were up 50% and t-shirts were up 35%.
Fire brigades including South Wales Fire And Rescue Service, Scottish Fire And Rescue and London Fire Brigade have issued safety warnings and urged people to act responsibly.
They warn people to responsibly dispose of barbecues, lit cigarettes and glass bottles, not to burn waste such as garden waste and instead use municipal services, and that barbecues should not be used on balconies or near sheds, fences, trees, shrubs and yard waste to keep things from catching fire.
They also urge people cooling off in waterways to be aware of a cold water shock.
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