Amber Alerts as Heat Nears 35C, Storms Loom
Amber heat-health alerts covered most of England on Monday as temperatures climbed towards 35C, with forecasters warning that thunderstorms could follow later in the week. The heat piled fresh strain on health services and transport, and came with a drought already gripping much of the country. Officials again urged people to take care in the sun.
The latest hot spell, one of several this summer, has stretched hospitals, buckled rail lines and deepened the water shortage that has brought hosepipe bans for tens of millions. Amber alerts warn of a likely rise in illness and deaths among the elderly and vulnerable. The promised thunderstorms may bring some respite from the heat, but risk flash flooding on ground baked too hard to absorb the rain, and will do little to refill depleted reservoirs. The relentless weather has become the backdrop to the summer. Watch whether the storms break the heat and how much rain they bring.