Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has issued urgent safety advice to Cheltenham residents as the Met Office warns of dangerously high temperatures set to break June records. The service used its official X account to share guidance on Monday, telling people to use lifeguarded swimming sites, avoid lighting barbecues on grass, stay hydrated, and check on vulnerable people. The alert comes as Red and Amber Extreme Heat Warnings cover Gloucestershire on Wednesday and Thursday.
The safety message stressed that extreme heat is dangerous and urged specific actions: use only lifeguarded sites for swimming, never place a BBQ on grass, and steer clear of bonfires entirely. The Met Office expects peak temperatures of 38 to 40°C, which would smash the current UK June record of 35.6°C set in Southampton in 1976 and Camden Square in 1957. Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Mark Sidaway called it a severe event with health impacts likely for many, not just those usually at risk. High humidity will make conditions feel even more oppressive, and overnight lows staying above 20°C will create “Tropical Nights” with little relief.
This heatwave is drawing comparisons to July 2022 but with one crucial difference: dew points are forecast around 22°C, far stickier than the single‑digit humidity of that earlier spell. The service’s dedicated hot weather page warns that dry vegetation becomes “tinder dry” in such conditions, and embers from barbecues or bonfires can travel long distances to spark secondary blazes. Across England, an average of 27,000 grass, heathland, and moorland fires occur each year, and a tent can be fully engulfed in under a minute.
Met Office Chief Scientist Professor Stephen Belcher CBE said human induced climate change has made events like this more likely and more intense. While the RNLI separately cautioned that despite the warm air, sea and waterway temperatures remain low enough to cause cold water shock, emphasising the need for lifeguarded sites. The extreme heat episode is expected to peak on 24 and 25 June.
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