An Amber warning for extreme heat covers Bloxwich and the wider West Midlands Conurbation until 11:59pm tonight, with a second Amber warning already confirmed for Friday. The Met Office has assessed the impact as High with Medium likelihood, bringing hot, humid conditions and exceptionally warm temperatures both day and night.
Daytime temperatures are widely expected to exceed 30 Celsius, with the hottest spots in the region potentially peaking between 38 and 40 Celsius. Overnight, the thermometer is unlikely to drop far below the high teens, and some places will stay in the low 20s. The UK Health Security Agency has responded by issuing Red heat health alerts for the West Midlands, warning that the severe conditions pose a risk to life.
The current heatwave has already broken national records—36.1 Celsius was recorded in Hampshire on Wednesday, making it the hottest June day on record and eclipsing the previous mark of 35.6 Celsius set in 1976. In the West Midlands, local authorities have triggered emergency measures with some schools planning to close early. Separately, hosepipe bans are now affecting about 850,000 homes in Kent. High humidity will compound the discomfort, and a separate Yellow warning for thunderstorms, bringing gusty winds of up to 60 mph, has been issued from midnight on Friday until 10am as the heat finally breaks.
The extreme conditions mirror a wider European heatwave that has pushed temperatures above 40 Celsius in France and given Paris its hottest day since 1947. Closer to home, the UK’s all-time temperature record of 40.3 Celsius, set during the landmark 2022 heatwave, remains in place—but the current event is proving comparable in severity.
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