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Potentially deadly heatwave set to break records

PEOPLE’S lives could be at risk, the Met Office said today as it issued the first ever red warning for extreme heat predictions.

Meteorologists gave an 80 per cent chance of the mercury topping Britain’s record temperature of 38.7°C set in Cambridge in 2019, with the current heatwave set to peak on Tuesday.

There is a 50 per cent chance of temperatures reaching 40°C elsewhere in the country, likely along the A1 corridor.

The UK Health Security Agency has increased its heat health warning from level three to level four, making it a “national emergency.”

Level four is reached “when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system. At this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, not just in high-risk groups,” it said.

The Met Office red warning, for Monday and Tuesday, covers an area from London up to Manchester, and up to the Vale of York.

Professor Hannah Cloke, climate expert and natural hazards lecturer at the University of Reading, said the predictions are a “wake-up call” for climate change.

“The UK government does need to take it more seriously than they are doing,” she said.

“New houses should be set up to deal with this kind of heat when they are built.”

Ms Cloke warned health services could be overwhelmed during the heatwave and there would be risks such as heatstroke and dehydration for everyone, but particularly for the vulnerable and elderly.

Friends of the Earth’s Mike Childs said: “Each year, the effects of climate breakdown are becoming more evident and more severe.

“Without meaningful government intervention, millions of Brits, particularly older people and young children, will be at increasing risk from health-threatening heatwaves like the one we’re experiencing.”

Labour said that ministers are failing to “get a grip” on the heatwave and are “fiddling while Britain boils.”

Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “This zombie government is distracted by self-indulgent fantasy economics rather than preparing for a crisis or taking action.

“Many working people don’t have air conditioning at work, and we can’t just expect staff to just crack on given the potentially serious – even deadly – implications.”

Downing Street said that Cobra had met on Thursday amid the heatwave and discussions with sectors including the NHS will “continue to work closely with all of those sectors over today, through the weekend and into early next week.”

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