UK issues red alert for extreme heat for the first time

Met Office spokesman Graham Madge said it was a “very potentially dangerous situation”, with a 50% chance that temperatures could reach 40C somewhere in the UK.

BBC weather presenter Matt Taylor said it was “increasingly likely” a fight temperature record in British territory.

The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was 38.7°C in Cambridge in 2019.

Taylor said that although he was not sure this was the first time there had been a possibility of 40C in the UK.

“This is exceptionally hot. It’s temperatures you might be able to tolerate if you were on vacation, but in everyday life they can have severe health effects and we’re likely to see impacts on transportation and energy next week,” he added.

The Met Office said the heat was caused by high pressure over the UK and an influx of warm air from southern Europe.

The heat wave spreading across Europe has unleashed the danger Forest fires in Portugal, France and Spain.

In these countries, residents and tourists fled cities and towns as fires were ignited by high winds and dry conditions.

More than 10,000 people have had to leave the Gironde region in southwestern France in recent days.

Dozens of fires broke out in Portugal and Spain, where temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

Several cities in western Spain were evacuated.

heat waves increase More frequent, more intense and longer lasting due to man-made climate change.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1°C since the beginning of the industrial age and temperatures will continue to rise.

Italy and Croatia have also reported wildfires this week, and strong winds have significantly increased the risk of wildfires in five regions of Greece, civil protection officials have warned.

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