A yellow heat health alert has been issued across much of England for the start of next week as a new wave of warm weather sweeps in. The warning, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), covers London, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, East of England, the South East and South West, and will be in place from 12pm on Monday until 6pm on Wednesday.
Significant impacts across health and social care services may occur over the period due to the high temperatures, the agency said. This includes the potential for a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
The latest warning comes after the UK has already experienced three heatwaves this summer. A combination of amber and yellow heat health warnings were issued across England last month when temperatures exceeded 30C in several parts of the country.
Yellow alerts are issued during periods of heat which would be unlikely to impact most people, but those who are particularly vulnerable, such as the elderly or those with multiple health conditions and on multiple medications, and are likely to struggle to cope and where action is required within the health and social care sector specifically.
A yellow alert may also be issued if the confidence in the weather forecast is low, but there could be more significant impacts if the worst-case scenario is realised. In this situation, the alert may be upgraded as the confidence in both the weather forecast and the likelihood of observing those impacts improves.
