Officials met in Downing Street on Monday to consider putting the country into a “level four” emergency. This is explained when the weather is so extreme that “illness and death can occur in the fit and healthy,” according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The Met Office has issued an ‘Amber warning’ for extreme heat lasting from Sunday to Tuesday.
It warned that this will lead to “widespread impacts on people and infrastructure”.
The weather service said the disruption will consist of “adverse health effects for the entire population”, delays on roads and cancellations of train and air travel.
Temperatures are forecast to rise to – if not above – 35 degrees Celsius, particularly in the southeast.
Some suggest there is a 30 percent change. Sunday will be the hottest day the UK has ever seen.
The UKHSA said a “level 4 national emergency” has been announced “following considerations of a cross-government assessment of weather conditions, coordinated by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat”.
Philip Johnston wrote in the Telegraph that the government’s response “borders on hysteria”.
A “level 4 emergency” could result in schools closing in some cases, with the UKHSA noting, “Some schools have had to close classrooms where conditions are too hot.”
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The Met Office said: “Significant changes in work practices and daily routines [are] probably required…
“The government’s advice is that 999 services should only be used in emergencies; seek advice from 111 if you need non-emergency health advice.”
Reports suggest local hose restrictions may be introduced if high temperatures persist.
This is especially likely in the south of England.
With Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: “Right now we are looking at a 30 per cent chance of seeing the highest temperature in the UK, if that happens we will have to record higher than 38.7 degrees – that was in 2019 in Cambridge.
“Technically, if we don’t go below 20 degrees at night, that will be classified as a tropical night, so parts of Yorkshire – which sounds ridiculous – will have a tropical night tonight.”