Record heat leads to health warning in UK and wildfires throughout Europe

Days after Texas officials warned of threats to the state’s power grid from excessive heat, a heatwave in Europe has prompted a health warning in Great Britain. British weather officials declared a national health emergency Friday due to projected record heat next Monday and Tuesday.

A red ‘Extreme Heat’ warning has been issued for parts of England. This level of warning is reached “when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system” and “illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups.”

“Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely early next week, quite widely across the red warning area on Monday, and focused a little more east and north on Tuesday,” Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said in a statement. “Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas. This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure.”

The Met Office warned temperatures could reach 104 degrees next week. The highest ever recorded temperature in Britain was just under 102 degrees, recorded in Cambridge University Botanic Garden in July of 2019. While current temperatures have drawn concern, experts warn the heatwave is far from over.

“I’m very aware of the kinds of impacts these levels of heat can have, particularly on vulnerable people, so the very elderly and the very young, babies, are really affected by not only the kinds of high temperatures we’re expecting in the next few weeks, but also the duration of the heat wave,” Aidan McGivern, meteorologist at Britain’s Met Office, said earlier this week.

In addition to the health warning, the heat brings wildfires, dangerous Western Europe has witnessed all week. In Spain, 400 people were forced to evacuate Friday morning in order to avoid two large blazes. In France, 1,000 firefighters with 10 water dumping planes began their Friday struggling to put out a fire that has forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. In Portugal, residents joined more than 3,000 firefighters Thursday to battle several fires that have raged throughout the week.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.