There is a 30% chance that Sunday will be the hottest day the UK has ever seen – with yesterday’s heat already having an impact.
Senior government officials met to discuss plans for the first-ever heatwave emergency in a bid to deal with the rising temperatures, according to the Telegraph.
A national emergency is declared when the hot weather is so extreme that “illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy” as well as vulnerable people, the UK Health Security Agency states.
If implemented, it could cause widespread disruption to schools, travel, health services and even nuclear power plants.
It comes after the Met Office issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat across parts of the UK on Sunday, as temperatures are expected to soar into the 30s.
The rare warning means there could be a danger to life or potential serious illness as a result of the weather.
It is being enforced across the East Midlands, East of England, London, South East, North East, North West, South West, Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
“At the moment, we are looking at a 30% chance of seeing the highest temperature recorded in the UK, if that does happen we will have to record higher than 38.7C – which was back in 2019 in Cambridge,” said Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge.
However, the sunshine could cause some issues such as road closures and delays or cancellations to rail and air travel.
Network Rail has warned speed restrictions are likely to be in place this week on the worst-affected parts of the network.
For those driving, the RAC has recommended carrying water in the car and starting journeys earlier in the day.
Fire services have also urged people to have picnics instead of barbecues during the warm weather after a spate of grass fires.
In Hampshire, the council has said it is preparing to deploy gritters to protect cars against melting roads.