Four-day extreme heat warning issued for Shropshire with temperatures set to soar
An amber weather warning of extreme heat has been issued by the Met Office for Shropshire and Powys with much of the country set to swelter in temperatures of over 30C.
Met Office sent out the weather warning which will be in place from Thursday, August 11 to Sunday, August 14, covering much of England from Cornwall and Kent in the south up to Manchester and West Yorkshire in the north, as well as parts of South and Mid Wales.
The weather warning is the second alert issued in recent weeks after the extreme heat in July, which saw record breaking temperatures in the UK.
Soaring temperatures in July caused major disruption to travel across the country with trains cancelled due to railway lines.
The warning comes as figures showed that the county is one of those most at risk for wildfires due to the long periods of dry weather over the past few weeks.
The impact can be seen in local reservoirs which are lower than this time last year, with the shoreline of Lake Vyrnwy more and more visible.
Liz Noakes, Telford and Wrekin's Director for Public Health, urged people to take the temperatures seriously, and look after pets.
She said: “I hope everyone will be enjoying the hot weather this week, but with temperatures expected to rise to around 30°C, please make sure you do so safely.
"Drink plenty of fluids, dress appropriately for the weather, wear sun cream and plan ahead your journeys, to stay away from the midday sun, if you can.
"Hot weather can be challenging for lots of people. If you can, make sure to take care of people from your family or friends who might be at higher risk of ill health from overheating – such as older people, people with long term health conditions, young children who may need help keeping cool.
"And don’t forget to keep your pets safe as well. Thank you.”
Jan Morris area manager at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, asked people to "please be careful this week".
She urged people to be cautious when getting rid of cigarettes, and to avoid using disposable barbecues.
Writing on Twitter she said: "Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service are in the second highest area at risk of wildfires due to prolonged dry spells & high temperatures.
"Please be careful when discarding cigarettes etc & avoid the use of disposable BBQs."
The Met Office has listed what to expect from the upcoming heatwave:
Adverse health effects are likely to be experienced by those vulnerable to extreme heat
The wider population are likely to experience some adverse health effects including sunburn or heat exhaustion (dehydration, nausea, fatigue) and other heat related illnesses
Some changes in working practices and daily routines likely to be required
An increased chance that some heat-sensitive systems and equipment may fail
More people are likely to visit coastal areas, lakes, rivers and other beauty spots leading to an increased risk of water safety and fire-related incidents
Some delays to road, rail and air travel are possible, with potential for welfare issues for those who experience prolonged delays
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “It will be a lot of sunshine for a vast majority of the UK and also temperatures rising day after day.
“Not everyone will initially see those sunny conditions, but towards the end of the week even Scotland and Northern Ireland will join the rest of the UK in having generally fine, sunny and very warm if not hot conditions.
“In terms of temperatures we’re looking at them build from 28C or 29C [Tuesday] to the low to mid 30s from Thursday onwards, so a fairly widespread heatwave developing across the UK this week.
“The peak of the temperatures look likely to occur on Friday or Saturday.”
Mr Morgan said the West Midlands and West Country could see the highest temperatures, with a maximum of around 35C predicted, but added this was still uncertain.
He added: “The heatwave we saw at the end of July, that was relatively short-lived and saw exceptionally high, record-breakingly high temperatures.
“We’re quite confident temperatures will not go as high as they did during July, but the difference is that this is going to be quite a prolonged period of temperatures in the low 30s, so it will be very notable nonetheless.
“Heatwave criteria are likely to be met across many parts of the UK and there will no doubt be some adverse impacts from heatwave exhaustion, dehydration and so on, so we do anticipate some potentially adverse effects to the NHS and more vulnerable people having heat-related problems through this period of time.”
