What precautions should you be taking as a second heatwave edges closer?

[00:00:00]Now, amber heat health alerts are in place across large parts of England as temperatures are set to soar above 30° this weekend. Nick Dixon is at Brighton Beach this morning. Nick, another heatwave on the cards perhaps?

[00:00:16]>> Looking that way, Fay. Still a little bit foggy on the beach this morning, but if we don't get an official heatwave over the next few days, certainly it's going to be a sustained period of hot weather and with that always the temptation to go into the water to try and cool down, but you do have to be so careful because of course during the last heatwave last month we heard a lot sadly about the dangers of cold water shock. More about that in a second, but let me just take you through the warnings that are in place. The the heat health alert so there's a yellow alert in place for the East and the West Midlands. Now, that essentially means more of a risk to vulnerable people and more pressure on the health services as well and an amber alert covering London, the South East, the South West and the East of England which means the heat may have a significant impact on health and social care services, too. Let's have a chat with Aaron from the RNLI. She's one of the lifeguards on the beach. Aaron, I can see the water temperature this morning, 17° C. That's a little higher than during the last heatwave. Does that mean we don't need to worry quite so much about cold water shock this time around?

[00:01:17]>> No, we absolutely need to worry about cold water shock because the air temperature is much higher than the water temperature. You can still experience symptoms of cold water shock.

[00:01:25]So, if you are struggling in the water, float to live, lie on your back and if you see anyone else struggling in the water, dial 999 and ask for the coast guard. If you are able to come to a lifeguard at beach and swim between the red and yellow flags.

[00:01:37]>> Okay, Aaron. Thanks so much. Great advice. The heat health alerts Fay in place until Tuesday of next week.

[00:01:44]>> Laura, it's a brilliant brilliant weekend potentially, isn't it?

[00:01:48]>> Looks like a >> for single dealing with our nosh.

[00:01:52]>> They are because people will be flocking to the seaside as we just heard Nick Dixon say and obviously the advice is to stay safe heading into the water, go in and acclimatize slowly, but the chips will be out, the seagulls will be ready.

[00:02:02]>> Yeah.

[00:02:03]>> It is worth pointing out, it is not for everybody. So, if you're living in Scotland and Northern Ireland and Northern areas of England, you're going to be saying, "What is all the fuss about?" There is no heatwave here. So, let me tell you how hot, how long, and where.

[00:02:14]>> Brilliant. Great.

[00:02:15]>> Follow me.

[00:02:16]Uh so, we have this battleground set up.

[00:02:18]We have low pressure sitting to the north of the UK, high pressure building from the south. There is a heatwave building across the near continent.

[00:02:24]France could get some record-breaking temperatures. And look at this red, it is later on into Monday and Tuesday.

[00:02:31]That heat really starts to build and those temperatures dial up. So, these are our top temperatures. 32° today, a slight drop as we head through to Saturday, but Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, we could be up to 34°, potentially higher. So, it is worth staying tuned to the forecast. I spoke to the Met Office this morning, they continue to monitor how extreme those temperatures are set to be on Tuesday, and then that will, yes, put us into heatwave threshold criteria.

[00:02:55]But, it is southeastern areas that see this. And interestingly, on Sunday, it is the summer solstice. It is officially the start of summer astronomically. It is the day of the year where the sun the earth is tilted at its furthest towards the sun. The sun it is its highest point in the sky, and we have our longest day.

[00:03:13]So, yes, it definitely looks like the weather got the memo. Heat building this weekend, potentially record-breaking temperatures, too.