London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Met Office issues first ever extreme heat warning for UK

Met Office issues first ever extreme heat warning for UK

Warning for much of Wales and parts of England comes with call for caution near water after six deaths over weekend
The Met Office has issued its first ever extreme heat warning for the UK with temperatures possibly reaching 33C in western areas.

The amber warning is in place for much of Wales, all of south-west England and parts of southern and central England.

It also warned of increasing water safety concerns as six people died in incidents over the weekend.

“Many areas will continue to reach heatwave thresholds but the amber extreme heat warning focuses on western areas, where the most unusually high temperatures are likely to persist,” said the Met Office’s chief operational meteorologist, Steven Ramsdale.

An amber warning is the second-highest level under the Met Office’s new extreme heat warning service launched in June. It said temperatures in most areas covered by the warning would be in the high 20s and low 30s.

A note accompanying the alert warned of health effects on vulnerable people as well as heat exhaustion and sunburn for the wider population.

“I wrote to the prime minister last year and again at the start of this summer to warn that the country was not properly prepared for the growing risks from hot weather and needed a national heat risk strategy. We know that heatwaves are becoming more intense and frequent because of climate change,” said Bob Ward of the LSE’s Grantham research institute on climate change and the environment.

“We are now facing conditions that are similar to the period of hot weather that occurred in August 2020, resulting in more than 1,700 deaths across England.”

He said elderly people and those with respiratory illnesses were most vulnerable but deaths could be avoided with a national plan to manage the increasing heat.

The Met Office also said the likelihood that people would flock to coasts, rivers and lakes would increase water safety concerns. At least six people died in such incidents over the weekend, leading to calls from emergency services warning people against swimming in open water.

Derbyshire fire and rescue service said a man’s body was recovered after a four-hour search on Sunday night at Victory Quarry near Buxton. They added a warning that the cold water makes it difficult even for accomplished swimmers.

South Yorkshire fire and rescue issued a similar appeal after a man in his 20s was recovered from the 30ft deep lake in Sheffield’s Crookes Valley Park before midnight on Sunday.

“Our message to people across South Yorkshire is simple – please stay out of the water unless you are at a proper swimming pool or part of an organised open water swimming group,” said the statement.

“Open bodies of water are often much colder than they look – this can send your body into shock when you jump in and prevent you being able to swim to safety. You also have no idea what is underneath – hidden currents, rocks and rubbish being the main dangers that can cause you serious harm.”

Elsewhere a 19-year-old man died after going into the water in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, and a teenage girl was pronounced dead after being retrieved from Ducklington Lake in Oxfordshire.

North Yorkshire police said a man in his 50s was pronounced dead on the River Ouse. Dorset police said a man in his 40s fell from rocks near Stair Hole on the Jurassic Coast. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Met Office also said there could be an increased risk of wildfires as well as damage to heat-sensitive equipment and potential power cuts.

The West Midlands fire service put out a fire when a bus stop self-combusted in Chelmsley Wood suburb of Solihull.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×