Heatwave Conditions Coming to Somerset as Health Alert Is Issued

Somerset, England, is getting ready for another heatwave. Temperatures are expected to climb as high as 28°C over the next several days. Health officials have issued a warning because the hot weather can be dangerous, especially for people who are already sick or elderly.

A heatwave is officially declared when temperatures rise above 26°C for three days in a row or more. In Somerset, that threshold is expected to be crossed every day from Sunday through Friday. That is nearly a full week of heatwave conditions. However, this heatwave will not be as extreme as the one in late June, when a town called Merryfield set a new UK record for June with a temperature of 36.7°C.

The UK Health Security Agency has put out a yellow heat-health alert for Somerset and other parts of the country. The alert runs from noon on Sunday until 8:00 p.m. on July 11. Officials say the heat could put vulnerable people at greater risk, lead to more visits to healthcare services, make indoor spaces very uncomfortable, and even cause more water-related deaths from cold-water shock or drowning.

BBC meteorologist Linda Ludlow said Somerset would start to feel heatwave conditions over the weekend. She explained that counties in the far south-west of England were more likely to see those conditions beginning on Wednesday. She also noted that this heatwave would not be as hot as the previous one two weeks ago because the wind is not blowing in from continental Europe.

Scientists warn that summer heatwaves are becoming more common and more severe because of climate change. In fact, the world's 11 warmest years ever recorded have all happened since 2015. While natural weather patterns play a role, experts say that human-caused climate change is the main reason temperatures keep reaching dangerous levels.

When people burn fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are released into the air. These gases act like a blanket around Earth, trapping heat and causing temperatures to rise. Akshay Deoras, a senior research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, said climate change has provided the springboard for back-to-back heatwaves. His words suggest that unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, extreme heat events will keep happening more often.