Yellow alerts issued across England until Monday before they were upgraded to amber on Friday for the East and West Midlands, London, the East of England, and the South East and South West
Water levels at four reservoirs are ‘extremely low'(Image: PA)
Heatwave health warnings have been ramped up across parts of England as the nation faces the driest start of a year since 1976. The UK Health Security Agency issued the weather alerts, which serve as an early warning system for when extreme temperatures are expected to affect the population’s health and wellbeing.
Initially, yellow alerts were in place across England until Monday, but they were upgraded to amber on Friday for regions including the East and West Midlands, London, the East of England, and the South East and South West.
An amber alert signifies a likely significant impact on health and social care services due to the heat, including a potential increase in fatalities among the over-65s and those with pre-existing medical conditions. It also warns that the heat could disrupt health services and lead to a surge in power demand.
Amber heatwave health alerts have been issued for regions of the UK(Image: UKHSA)
The North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber remain under yellow alerts, with all alerts in place until 9am on Monday.
Following the amber alert for the West Midlands, Solihull Council and local GPs have urged residents to take care of themselves and others, reports the Express.
In a statement, the council said: “An amber alert indicates that significant impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service due to high temperatures, with potential for the entire population to be at risk.
“Non-health sectors may also start to observe impacts and a more significant coordinated response may be required.”
It comes as Environment Agency (EA) has said England had its driest start of the year since 1976. Reservoir levels are currently below average in all regions and fell in three-quarter of sites during June. Worryingly, four sites were recorded as having “exceptionally low” levels.
Oasis fans have been told to take precautions in the heat at their upcoming gigs
Blagdon in Somerset (62%), Blithfield in Staffordshire (59%), Derwent Valley in Derbyshire (58%) and the Yorkshire Supply Group (55%) were all included in the “exceptionally low” category.
The EA said: “June was another dry month for most, with 80% of the long term average (LTA) rainfall being received across England as a whole. It’s the driest start to the year across England since 1976.
“Soil moisture deficits (SMD) continued to increase with soils considerably drier than would be expected across most of England.
“Monthly mean river flows decreased at three-quarters sites we report on, with most sites classed as below normal or lower for the time of year.”
Oasis fans heading to the iconic hometown concerts in Manchester’s Heaton Park on Friday and Saturday have been warned to take weather precautions. They were told to “prepare for extreme sun and heat” by wearing “a (bucket) hat”.
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