Yorkshire Coast Gets Yellow Heat Alert

As the UK Health Security Agency upgrades it's heat warning for other parts of the country to Amber, Yorkshire and the Humber gets a Yellow alert.

The yellow alert issued for Yorkshire and the Humber by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is in force from 9am on Friday (June 9th) to 9am on Monday (June 12th).

Under the new Heat Health Alerting system introduced by UKHSA and the Met Office, a yellow alert means that any impacts include the increased use of health care services by vulnerable populations and an increase in risk to health for individuals over the age of 65 or those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. There is also the potential for indoor environments, including health and care settings, to become very warm.

Today the agency also escalated the alert in five regions to an Amber Alert, the affected areas are:

•     West Midlands
•     East Midlands
•     East of England
•     South East
•     South West

The agency says:

"The decision to move to an amber alert has been made due to latest Met Office forecasts, which indicate there is a high likelihood that forecasted temperatures will be reached rapidly over the weekend in these regions, while we are also likely to see high overnight temperatures. An amber alert indicates that weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, and at this level we may begin to see some health impacts across the wider population, not just the most vulnerable."

Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, said:

In the coming days we are likely to experience our first sustained period of hot weather of the year so far, so it’s important that everyone ensures they keep hydrated and cool while enjoying the sun.

Forecasted temperatures this week will primarily impact those over the age of 65 or those with pre-existing health conditions such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

If you have friends, family or neighbours who you know are more vulnerable to the effects of hot weather, it is important you check in on them and ensure they are aware of the forecasts and are following the necessary advice.

Dan Harris, Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said:

Temperatures will rise later this week and into the weekend, with a plume of warm air being drawn in from the south. Temperatures over the weekend could peak around 30°C in some parts of England and remain well above average overnight through the weekend.

Coupled with the rise in temperatures is an increase in the likelihood of some potentially heavy and thundery showers, which could bring some localised disruption for some from late on Friday and into the weekend, though it is not possible to be definitive about exact details this far from the potential event.

Despite the warnings the Met office forecast for the Yorkshire Coast shows temperatures on Friday of just 12° Celsius rising to 17° on Saturday, 18° on Sunday and 19° on Monday.

What the Heat-Health Alert colours mean:

Green (summer preparedness) - No alert will be issued as the conditions are likely to have minimal impact on health. However, during periods where the risk is minimal it is important that organisations ensure that they have plans in place and are prepared to respond should an alert (yellow, amber or red) be issued.

Yellow (response) - These alerts cover a range of situations. Yellow alerts may be issued during periods of heat which would be unlikely to impact most people, but those you are particularly vulnerable (E.g. the elderly with multiple health conditions and on multiple medications) and are likely to struggle to cope and whereh action is required within the health and social care sector specifically. A yellow alert may also be issued if the confidence in the weather forecast is low, but there could be more significant impacts if the worst-case scenario is realised. In this situation the alert may be upgraded as the confidence in both the weather forecast and the likelihood of observing those impacts improves.

Amber (enhanced response) - An amber alert would represent a situation in which the expected impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, with potential for the whole population to be at risk and where other sectors apart from health may also start to observe impacts, indicating that a coordinated response is required. In addition, in some circumstances a National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS) Extreme Heat warning may be issued in conjunction with and aligned to the HHA. This situation would indicate that significant impacts are expected across multiple sectors.

Red (emergency response) - A red alert would indicate significant risk to life for event the health population. A red warning would be issued in conjunction with and aligned to a red NSWWS Extreme Heat warning. Several impacts would be expected across all sectors with a coordinated response essential.