The UK Meteorological Office (Met, in English) issued a red alert in the UK for the first time on Friday for a heatwave that will start this Sunday and is expected to last through next Tuesday.

It is estimated that temperatures will rise to 40 degrees Celsius for the first time, so British authorities have asked residents to take precautions, taking into account that homes in the country are not prepared for this heat.

This red alert, the highest warning issued by the Met for heat, is aimed primarily at London and central England, while warning that high temperatures could lead to the cancellation of trains or flights.

This “extraordinary heatwave on Monday and Tuesday” could have “widespread impacts on people and infrastructure,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in issuing the warning.

Met spokesman Grahame Madge told media they had issued a “red alert for extreme heat for Monday and Tuesday, the first warning ever issued.”

“The warning covers the area from London to Manchester and then to the Vale of York (Northern England). This has the potential to be a very serious situation,” he added.

Yesterday, the Government held an emergency Cobra meeting, consisting of representatives from various departments, to assess the response of the authorities to this heat wave.

Among other things, the NHS has been set up to care for vulnerable people.

Temperatures are expected to exceed 38 degrees and even reach 40 degrees, something unprecedented in the UK, where most homes do not have air conditioning.

The maximum record to date is in July 2019with 38.7ºC recorded at Cambridge Botanic Garden

The Cabinet Secretary of State, Kit Malthouse, told the media that the main thing was to “prepare” government services and it was important that people take care of the “most vulnerable groups”, such as children and the elderly.

Based on EFE