News / The heatwave is on
The Met Office and Department of Health have confirmed that the UK is due for more hot weather, in a heatwave that might affect people's well-being.
It's worth bearing in mind that our summers are getting progressively and predictably warmer --this is only going to be the start.
This summer's predictions by the Met Office have already provoked the Department of Health into issuing a health warning. It's likely that parts of England will see 33C by midweek. It's also predicted that night temperatures aren't going to dip below 18C, meaning that we'll all be feeling the heat throughout the whole day, then not getting any relief from the cooler nocturnal break. It's the weakest in society that suffer -- the sick, the elderly and the young in particular.
Globally, 12 of the last 13 years have the hottest on record.
While it's hard to prove that this summer's heatwave is magnified by climate change, let's take a look at the stats. Globally, 12 of the last 13 years have the hottest on record. These totals are reflected in the UK climate record too. As the heat rises, so will the casualty figures caused by the unrelenting weather. The Met Office stated in a recent report: "In London alone there could be a five-fold increase on the current death rate of 1.8 per 100,000, soaring to 10.7 per 100,000 by 2080."
Heatwaves like the blistering summer of 2003 will be considered 'cool' by the 2060s, the Met Office says. By the 2080s we'll have an average temperature nearly 4C higher too. If you ever needed a starker reminder of climate change -- just watch the mercury rising this summer.
Get the latest Heat Health warnings at
metoffice.gov.uk
