Amber weather warning for extreme heat in Wisbech, Chatteris and March issued by Met Office as UK braces for more hot weather
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat in Wisbech, Chatteris and March from this Thursday as temperatures are set to rise again.
With the mercury forecast to reach 32C in Chatteris and March over the weekend, and 31C in Wisbech, the weather warning is in place for the south of England, the Midlands and parts of Wales.
The warning has been issued for four days from midnight on Thursday to 23.59pm on Sunday, saying that adverse health effects are likely to be suffered by some vulnerable people.
Temperatures in Wisbech will climb from 28C to 29C on Friday, 30C on Saturday and reach 31C on Sunday.
In Chatteris and March, it will be slightly hotter. It is forecast to reach 30C on Thursday and rise to 31C for Friday and Saturday before hitting 32C on Sunday.
The temperatures will not reach the record-breaking UK high of 40.3C which was confirmed in Lincolnshire last month.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Rudman said: “Thanks to persistent high pressure over the UK, temperatures will be rising day-on-day through this week and an extreme heat warning has been issued.
“Temperatures are expected to peak at 35C on Friday and Saturday, or even an isolated 36C on Saturday. Elsewhere will see temperatures widely into the high 20s and low 30s Celsius.
“Coupled with the high daytime temperatures there will be some warm nights, with temperatures expected not to drop below the low 20s Celsius for some areas in the south.”
The latest heatwave coming after months of low rain which have left the countryside and urban parks and gardens tinder-dry.
The Met Office’s fire severity index (FSI), an assessment of how severe a fire could become if one were to start, is very high for most of England and Wales, and will reach “exceptional” for a swathe of England by the weekend.
Scientists warn that the likelihood of droughts occurring is becoming higher due to climate change, driven by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and other human activities.
