London Aug 10 (BNA): The British Met Office has issued an amber warning of ‘severe heat’ for parts of England and Wales, with no respite in sight from hot drought conditions that have fueled fires, shattered temperature records and strained infrastructure. for the country. .
The UK Met Office said the amber warning – the second most severe after red – will be in effect from Thursday until the end of Sunday and means people exposed to extreme heat could face adverse health effects.
Temperatures are expected to peak at 35C (95F) on Friday and may reach 36C in some places on Saturday.
The warning comes after England’s driest July since 1935, when temperatures rose above 40C for the first time, bringing renewed light on the effects of climate change.
Other European countries have also faced a severe heat wave in recent weeks, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
Britain, less accustomed to such high temperatures, is struggling to deal with the situation.
A heatwave in July brought power outages, damaged airport runways, twisted railways and ignited dozens of fires in London, where the fire brigade faced its busiest week since World War Two.
Britain’s largest water company, Thames Water, which serves 15 million customers across London and southeast England, said on Tuesday it plans to announce temporary restrictions on use in the coming weeks due to this week’s high temperatures and long-term forecasts of dry weather.
Several other water companies have already imposed restrictions, and supermarkets have limited sales of disposable barbecues that firefighters warn can turn a light on dry grass. Ambulance services received hundreds of calls from patients with breathing difficulties, dizziness and fainting.
The amber warning, which followed Britain’s first “severe heat” red warning in July, covers most of the southern half of England and parts of eastern Wales.
Scientists said the likelihood of a heat wave in July increased at least ten times due to climate change.