HQ Team
June 19, 2025: The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued an amber heat-health alert for all regions of England for the next four days and warned about its health impacts.
“The alert is currently in place from noon on Thursday, 19 June to 9 am on Monday, 23 June. The Met Office has forecast temperatures exceeding 30°c,” according to a statement from the agency.
The hottest day so far this year was last Friday, when a temperature of 29.4 degrees centigrade was recorded in Santon Downham, West Suffolk. That figure was exceeded on June 19 when the mercury touched 32.2°c in Kew and Heathrow, London.
Under the Weather-Health Alert system, an amber alert —the last before red alert, which is issued for dangerous weather — means that weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service.
Aged above 65
The alert indicates that weather impacts are likely to be felt across the wider population, not just the most vulnerable. An increase in risk to health for individuals aged over 65 years or those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, is also forecast.
“We have already seen warm weather across the week, and temperatures are set to increase in the coming days, exceeding 30°c in many areas,” said Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA.
“Our findings show that heat can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions.”
The highest temperatures from this hot spell are forecast for Saturday, with low 30s Celsius fairly widely across England, and up to 34°C possible in eastern areas.
‘Tropical night’
In these areas, the nights will also be quite warm, with the possibility of temperatures not falling below 20°C in some areas, making it hard to sleep or what is called a ‘tropical night.’
“Temperatures will ease from the west on Sunday as fresher air arrives from the Atlantic, although parts of East Anglia and the far southeast of England could still see 28 to 29°C for a time,” said Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Dan Holley.
According to the Met Office, a high is expected on Friday with 32°c possible in central England. As well as increasing temperatures, high pollen levels will bring challenges for hay fever sufferers and UV levels will also be high.
On June 18, the Met Office scientists published a new study detailing the increasing likelihood of extreme temperatures in the UK, revealing that the chance of exceeding 40°c in the UK is accelerating at pace.
Pace of heat increasing
The scientists found that the chance of exceeding 40°c has been rapidly increasing, and it is now over 20 times more likely than it was in the 1960s.
In July 2022, the UK experienced its first recorded temperature above 40°C, when Coningsby in Lincolnshire reached 40.3°C. There were significant impacts, including wildfires, disruptions to transport and power systems, and increased mortality.
“We also found that temperatures several degrees higher than we saw in July 2022 are possible in today’s climate,” said Dr Gillian Kay, Senior Scientist at the Met Office.
