The Met Office has upgraded its weather warning for extreme heat from amber to red, as Abergavenny falls into an area where ‘significant disruption’ to daily life is expected.

During the heatwave expected to affect a large part of England and Wales this week, the highlighted area now looks increasingly likely to see a two to three day period where maximum temperatures in the shade exceed 37 Celsius, perhaps rising to 38 to 40 Celsius in some places. The warning will be in force from 9am on Wednesday to 9pm on Thursday.

The heat will be accompanied by high humidity, exacerbating the potential for discomfort and health impacts, with very warm and humid night times also reducing the ability for people to recover overnight. Significant disruption to daily life is likely and the public should take every effort to make precautions and adapt their daily routines where possible to cope with these levels of heat, which up to now have been extremely rare for the UK.

The following areas of Wales will be affected.

  • Blaenau Gwent
  • Bridgend
  • Caerphilly
  • Cardiff
  • Carmarthenshire
  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • Monmouthshire
  • Neath Port Talbot
  • Newport
  • Powys
  • Rhondda Cynon Taf
  • Swansea
  • Torfaen
  • Vale of Glamorgan

The whole population-wide is vulnerable to adverse health effects and are not limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to serious illness or danger to life. Substantial changes in working practices and daily routines will be required, there is also a high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, with the loss of power and other essential services, such as water, electricity, gas or mobile phone services. Significantly more people will visit coastal areas, lakes and rivers, leading to an increased risk of water safety incidents and delays on all forms of transport, along with delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, with significant welfare issues for those who experience even moderate delays.