The heat comes as a number of popular events are taking place across England, such as Notting Hill
Carnival, Manchester Pride and Reading and Leeds Festival. One million people are expected to attend the
two-day carnival in west London this year. The final weekend of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and
Creamfields, a dance music festival in Cheshire, are also taking place this weekend
“On Saturday and Sunday, there’ll be plenty of sunshine, especially in the east, with temperatures rising
into the mid to high twenties Celsius for many – it’ll be warmest in southeastern parts where 31-32C
(87.8-89.6F) is likely,” Andy Page, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said. “Western parts are likely to
see more cloud, and a probable cooling trend through the weekend.”
Health warnings for the heatwave have been issued for east and southeast England. Public Health England
has advised the public to look out for anyone who may be particularly vulnerable to the ill-effects of hot
weather, such as older people, young children and people with heart and lung conditions.
The Met Office has said temperatures for tomorrow are likely to be lower than those over the weekend,
with the warmest weather confined to the southeast. Unsettled weather, with rain and showers at times, is
expected to return in the northwest at the start of next week. The severity of the heatwave will vary across
the country, with highs of just 26C expected in Glasgow compared to a maximum temperature of 31C
predicted in London over the weekend.
Earlier this year, the UK saw its highest officially recorded temperature of 38.7C and joined Belgium,
Germany and the Netherlands in the list of countries that have broken their national records this year. July
2019 was also the hottest month ever recorded in history, according to the World Meteorological
Organisation.
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has warned that this summer’s record-breaking heat is a
consequence of climate change. “If we do not take action on climate change now, these extreme weather
events are just the tip of the iceberg. And, indeed, the iceberg is also rapidly melting,” Mr Guterres said.
“Preventing irreversible climate disruption is the race of our lives, and for our lives. It is a race that we can
and must win.”