Red weather warning for extreme heat issued for southern England including Milton Keynes

A red warning for extreme heat has been issued for regions of southern England including Milton Keynes as the heatwave continues to escalate.

The warnings cover Wednesday (24/06) and Thursday (25/06), which are widely anticipated to break the UK’s record for its highest ever temperature in the month of June.

It will only be the second time ever that a red weather warning for extreme heat has been issued in the UK, with the previous time coming in July 2022 when temperatures exceeded 40 degrees C for what was the hottest ever days recorded in the country.

Met Office forecasts for this week as of 8pm tonight (22/06) suggest a peak of around 38 degrees C in the Milton Keynes area on Thursday, along with temperatures of around 36 degrees on Wednesday. Both days are also forecast to see a high humidity. The heat is forecast to climb down over the weekend, falling below the 30 degrees mark next Saturday.

In their guidance, The Met Office said that an exceptional spell of hot and humid weather is expected across this region, with impacts to the general population highly likely.

Population-wide adverse health effects experienced, not limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to serious illness or danger to life.

Advice says that substantial changes in working practices and daily routines will be required, with a high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, with the loss of power and other essential services, such as water, electricity, gas or mobile phone services all possible.

The advice continues to state that significantly more people are likely to visiting coastal areas, lakes and rivers, leading to an increased risk of water safety incidents.

Delays on roads and road closures, along with delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, are all seen as possible, along with significant welfare issues for those who experience even moderate delays.

Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Mark Sidaway, said in a statement, “Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events and we’re expecting severe and significant impacts from this heatwave, with health impacts likely for many, even beyond those who are normally more vulnerable to the heat. The last time the UK recorded temperatures this high was in July 2022, but on this occasion the heat is expected to be accompanied by high humidity.

“As well as very high daytime temperatures, there will be consecutive nights where temperatures do not drop below 20°C, which is called a Tropical Night. This will make it very hard for people to recover from the daytime heat, exacerbating the heat stress impacts.”