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Heat health alerts now in place across whole of England
Amber heat health alerts are now in effect across all regions of England, aside from the north east, which has been given a yellow alert, up until Friday evening. You can keep up to date with the latest weather health alerts here.
Key events
The climate breakdown has been linked to the increasing frequency of wildfires, burning larger areas, across many parts of the world, as my colleagues note in this story.
The so-called “fire wave” under way in the UK is the most widespread the country has ever seen, with the combination of wet winters and prolonged heatwaves exacerbating the risk.
Several wildfires have broken out in the UK over recent weeks amid the hot and dry weather.
These include large blazes at Holme Fen, a peatland nature reserve near Peterborough, Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, Headon Warren on the Isle of Wight, Llanwonno in the Rhondda Valleys, south Wales and the Cairngorms national park in Scotland.
Firefighters work to contain New Forest fire for third day
Firefighters are beginning a third day of tackling a fire in the New Forest in Hampshire. Forestry England says the fire is under control but efforts to contain it could last for several days.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, assisted by neighbouring services, initially scrambled 26 fire engines alongside water carriers to the eastbound A31 after receiving reports that a van had caught fire on Sunday evening.
The fire service said the fire spread from the vehicle to the central reservation before progressing into nearby heathland. In a statement, it said:
Crews have worked tirelessly throughout the night, a change in wind direction provided a challenge to the firefighting operations but thanks to the efforts of firefighters we are managing to contain the fire.
We have been using a mix of fire engines and off-road vehicles to damp down and cool the edges of the area involved in the fire to prevent spread and escalation …
Overnight we had a slightly reduced presence with seven fire engines on site plus water carriers, off road vehicles and support vehicles but are planning to increase this for a larger scale attack today.
The A31 remains closed – and National Highways described “significant” damage to the road surface, road safety barrier and boundary fencing that will require repairs once it is safe to do so.
Pippa Neill
Farmers have reported their earliest harvests in 20 years, with reduced yields, while reservoir levels have fallen to 69% – 11.6% lower than expected for this time of year.
Paul Tompkins, the deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union, said that with no meaningful rain forecast in the coming weeks, the situation for farmers was increasingly concerning. He said:
Many farmers have completed the earliest harvest on record, with poor yields in key crops reported in some areas of the country.
Livestock and dairy farmers are already using winter feed because grass has stopped growing, while growers are working hard to keep fruit and vegetables watered, but many are struggling to access the water they need.
The government said it was considering ways to give more support to the farming sector. The water minister, Emma Hardy, said this would include making it easier to build on-farm reservoirs.
The Met Office has shared two images taken from space that reveal the stark contrast in much of the UK’s landscape between 23 May and yesterday. They capture how an exceptionally dry and hot period turned lots of once green land brown.
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Heat health alerts now in place across whole of England
Amber heat health alerts are now in effect across all regions of England, aside from the north east, which has been given a yellow alert, up until Friday evening. You can keep up to date with the latest weather health alerts here.
As we mentioned in the opening post, amber heat health alerts come into force across most of England from 9am today and will last until 9pm on Friday.
As well as a rise in deaths and likely “significant” impacts across health and social care services, here are some of the other risks associated with the amber category, as outlined by the UK Health Security Agency:
internal temperatures in hospitals and care homes may exceed the recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment
the heat affecting the ability of the workforce to deliver services
indoor environments overheating increasing the risk to some vulnerable people
issues managing medicines
increased demand for power exceeding capacity
possible travel delays
water‑related incidents may increase, including risks from cold‑water shock and drowning
Amber heat health alerts to kick in across England as parts of UK brace for fifth heatwave
Health alerts are set to come into force across England this morning as parts of the UK brace for fifth climate crisis-driven heatwave this summer.
Amber heat health alerts have been issued for all regions in England, except the north-east, which mean significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures, according to the UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The alerts stretch from 9am on Tuesday until 9pm on Friday.
The north-east will be under a yellow health alert, which is less intense than the amber category but is still linked to a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, and a likely increase in demand for health services.
The alerts come a day after four more regions of England were officially declared to be in drought: the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and the South Downs.
They joined seven English regions, alongside the whole of Wales, already under drought status since last month: East Anglia, Hertfordshire and London, Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex (covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and south Gloucestershire).
The Environment Agency said 71.3% of England is experiencing “flash drought”, as a dry start to August followed the country’s driest July on record.
On Tuesday, highs of 29C in Cardiff, 28C in Manchester and 25C in London are forecast before temperatures soar to the mid-30s in some areas on Thursday, according to the Met Office, with temperatures possibly exceeding 36C in some places.
