Red 'warning to life' alert issued for Doncaster as record-breaking 40c predicted

The Met Office has upgraded its amber warning to a red warning of extreme heat for Monday and Tuesday.

The alert covers the East Midlands, East of England, London and South East England, North West England, South West England, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

The warning starts from midnight on Monday and ends at midnight on Tuesday.

Forecasts show we could be in for some recording breaking heat at the start of next week – with the record high of 38.7c recorded in Cambridge in 2019 under threat.

A Met Office spokesman described the upcoming high temperatures as “an exceptional hot spell on Monday and Tuesday leading to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure.”

It added: “Population-wide adverse health effects experienced, not limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to serious illness or danger to life. Government advice is that 999 services should be used in emergencies only; seek advice from 111 if you need non-emergency health advice.

“There is a high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, potentially leading to localised loss of power and other essential services, such as water or mobile phone services

“There will be significantly more people visiting coastal areas, lakes and rivers, leading to an increased risk of water safety incidents.

“There could be delays on roads and road closures, along with delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, with significant welfare issues for those who experience even moderate delays.”