Mr Madge said there was a 50 per cent chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK, possibly along the A1 corridor.
“If we get to 40C, that’s a very symbolic threshold and shows that climate change is with us now,” he said.
“That’s much more likely because of climate change.”
The UK’s Health Security Agency has raised its heatwave health warning from level three to level four – a “national emergency”.
A fourth level is reached “when the heat wave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend beyond the health and social care system….At this level, illness and death can occur among the healthy and the healthy, not only in high-risk groups,” it said.
“Significant changes in everyday life”
“Significant disruption” to travel and energy supplies is expected, while there could also be widespread damage to property and infrastructure, according to the Met Office website.
People will have to make “significant changes to their work practices and their daily lives”, the weather agency said.
Britain will experience “road delays and road closures, along with rail and air travel delays and cancellations, with significant welfare issues for those experiencing even moderate delays”.
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