Shropshire weather: Four-day yellow heat-health alert issued as temperatures set to approach 30C this weekend
Warnings of "significant impacts" across health and social care services in the West Midlands have been issued ahead of expected high temperatures in the next few days.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow heat-health alert for the region with temperatures set to soar over the weekend.
The alert will come into force from 12pm tomorrow (Friday, June 27) and last until 6pm on Tuesday (July 1).
The UKHSA has also issued amber heat-health warnings for other parts of the country including London, the East Midlands, south east, south west and east of England.
The Met Office has forecast that temperatures will rise through the weekend towards 30C.
In Shrewsbury, temperatures are expected to peak at 27C on Sunday and 29C on Monday. Meanwhile, in Telford, temperatures are expected to peak at 28C on Sunday afternoon and 29C on Monday.
In Market Drayton, temperatures as high as 27C are expected on Sunday, and these are expected to rise to 29C on Monday.
And in the south of Shropshire, in Ludlow, highs of 27C are expected on Sunday while temperatures are set to peak at 30C on Monday.
The yellow alert affects the West Midlands as well as Yorkshire and Humber.
The UKHSA has warned of possible "significant impacts" across health and social care services due to high temperatures.
It has warned of a possible rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over, or with health conditions.
The agency added that there may also be impacts on younger age groups with a "likely" increase in demand for health services.
The UKHSA has also warned that internal temperatures in care settings such as hospitals and care homes may exceed the recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment.
Furthermore, it added that indoor environments could overheat, increasing the risk to vulnerable people living independently in community and care settings, and that heat could affect the ability of workforces to deliver services.
The Met Office said that a heatwave will build over the weekend and peak into the early part of next week, and is likely to bring the highest temperatures of the year so far to the UK.
Deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Mike Silverstone, said: "Higher temperatures building over the weekend and into early next week will bring particularly warm, hot or even very hot conditions for some, especially in the southeast and East Anglia and more locally elsewhere in England and east Wales. This in part will be influenced by a heatwave developing across western Europe.
"By the weekend, an area of high pressure will be intensifying and dominating the UK forecast. Conditions will be hottest in the south and east while areas further north and northwest will be relatively cooler.
"Monday could see temperatures reach around 34C in some parts, though we will be able to be more precise closer to the time. The heat is most likely to gradually relent from the west on Tuesday and into Wednesday, with a return towards more average temperatures for the second half of next week."
The Met Office's weather forecast for the West Midlands states:
Today (June 26):
Mainly cloudy with outbreaks of patchy rain spreading eastwards through the morning. Drier and brighter by the afternoon with occasional sunny spells. Breezy at times, feeling warm in the sunshine, but less humid than Wednesday. Maximum temperature 23C.
Tonight (June 26):
Dry this evening with late sunshine. Cloudier at times overnight with a few showers mixed with occasional clear spells. Breezy but not as humid overnight. Minimum temperature 11C.
Friday:
Fine and dry with variable amounts of cloud and some bright or sunny spells breaking through. Feeling warm in any sunny breaks with winds picking up through the day. Maximum temperature 24C.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday:
Mainly cloudy on Saturday with drizzle in places. Drier Sunday and more so Monday with sunnier spells. Winds easing and turning warmer, and feeling rather humid.
