Red heat warning extended into Friday in Hampshire as humid temperatures continue
The ‘extreme’ heat will continue for a little while longer
A rare red warning for extreme heat has been extended into Friday, as parts of Hampshire brace for more record-breaking temperatures.
The Met Office has extended its red warning, currently in place for a swathe of England and Wales, until 9pm on Friday for large larges of the South East - including a portion of Hampshire - because of the exceptional heat and humidity.
Temperatures could exceed 36C in these areas, perhaps rising to 38C in some places, the Met Office said.
On Wednesday, the June temperature record – held since the infamous summer of 1976 – was smashed as provisional figures suggest it reached 36.1C in Gosport.
Temperatures are remaining exceptionally warm at night, making it hard for people to sleep and recover from the day’s heat.
The sweltering heatwave has led to “awful conditions” in hospitals, schools and nurseries are closed or operating early pick-up times or relaxing uniform rules, while train services have been disrupted.
South Western Railway passengers are being urged to avoid non-essential travel to seaside resorts on Friday because of extreme heat.
The operator previously urged passengers to restrict travel on Wednesday and Thursday to essential journeys, but it has now extended this to include Friday as high temperatures are set to remain.
The heatwave is set to continue to the end of the week, with amber warnings for parts of England on Friday and Saturday, though Portsmouth is currently outside the boundary for this.
It is being driven by a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe that has brought extreme conditions across the continent, with human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, making heatwaves more frequent and intense.
The Met Office said it is possible the June record could be beaten again. If temperatures reach 39C, that would make it the second hottest day in the UK on record.
If 38C is recorded, that is still in the top five days ever recorded and hotter than any day of the 20th century.
Red heat health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency and remain in place until 11pm on Friday, and mean “adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population”.
The latest heatwave has prompted renewed calls for the UK to be better prepared for the rising risk of extreme heat that a changing climate is bringing, including cooling for hospitals, schools and care homes, heat regulations for workplaces, and to prepare infrastructure against rising temperatures.