Heat alerts issued across UK as temperatures to hit 33C in summer heatwave

29 July 2024, 10:07 | Updated: 29 July 2024, 10:27

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Heat alerts have been issued across the UK as temperatures are set to reach 33C in some parts of the country this week.

All areas of England, except the North East and North West, have been included in the warning, which is in place until Wednesday.

The UKHSA warned that the hot weather will have "significant impacts" on the health and social care sector, particularly across the South East and London.

The heat alerts, which came into effect at 9am this morning, will end at 11pm on Wednesday.

Temperatures could peak at 33C in London on Tuesday, while the rest of the country experiences highs five degrees higher than usually, says the Met Office.

If temperatures stay this high, the UK could officially experience a heatwave.

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A heatwave is officially defined as a location recording consecutively high temperatures, usually above or around 26C for three days in a row.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: "There is certainly potential that it could become an actual official heatwave, because in the spells you've had before it hasn't actually met all the criteria."

Partridge continued: "If there's not, it's very close to it, and if you're out and about and a member of the public then it's going to feel like a heatwave anyway, because also overnight things are going to turn a little bit more humid and muggy day-on-day as well."

The hottest day of the year so far was on July 19 when a high of 31.9C was recorded in central London.