Weather – latest: Health warning escalated as ‘extreme’ heatwave set to make UK hotter than Spain

Scorching temperatures, tropical cycles and an influx of extreme weather could be on the way due to the return of El Nino.

After three years of the La Nina climate pattern, which often lowers global temperatures, the hotter El Nino phenomenon is back in action, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.

El Nino describes the unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru and becomes official when the region’s sea temperatures rise 0.5 °C above average. It is often accompanied by a slowing down or reversal of the easterly trade windS.

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Learning how to cope in the heat can be a struggle, with the beaming rays of the sun, the inescapable humidity and the ever-rising temperatures tough to handle for many.

With the Met Office forecasting a shift in weather patterns in the UK and a “warm plume” of air with highs of 30C heading our way, just imagine how your pet may be feeling.

Domestic animals don’t have the luxury of being able to say when they’re feeling overheated or dehydrated, which is why you need to learn how to keep your pet as safe and healthy as possible during these extreme weather conditions.

Whether you’re a dog person or own a reptile, this is how to look after your pet properly as the heatwave runs its course.

A heat health warning for parts of England has been upgraded from yellow to amber by the UK Health Security Agency.

The initial alert was issued on Wednesday for six regions of England, London, the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, South East and South West.

On Thursday the warning was escalated for the West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, South East and South West, and the amber level means the impact of the weather is “likely to be felt across the whole health service… and the wider population, not just the most vulnerable”.

The UKHSA further issued a yellow alert for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions.

All alerts are in place between 9am on Friday and 9am on Monday June 12.

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The Met Office has predicted the UK will get “a warm plume of air being drawn in from the south” that will bring hotter conditions, and will lead to the first heat-health alert of the year. The UK is expected to see highs of 30C in the coming weeks.

Last year, British records were broken in late July, when the mercury reached highs of 40.3C in some parts of the country.

Dr Mark McCarthy, the head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said of those events: “We have seen temperature records tumbling. A new UK national climate temperature record should be a rare occurrence, and we would normally expect a new record to only exceed the previous one by a fraction of a degree.”

“However, we saw 39 stations across a large swathe of England exceed the previous highest daily temperature extreme, with the highest exceeding the previous record – set in Cambridge in July 2019 – by a remarkable 1.6C.”

An early bird El Nino has officially formed, likely to be strong, warp weather worldwide and give an already warming Earth an extra kick of natural heat, meteorologists announced.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday issued an El Nino advisory, announcing the arrival of the climatic condition. It may not quite be like the others.

It formed a month or two earlier than most El Ninos do, which “gives it room to grow,” and there’s a 56% chance it will be considered strong and a 25% chance it reaches supersized levels, said climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux, head of NOAA’s El Nino/La Nina forecast office.

“If this El Nino tips into the largest class of events ... it will be the shortest recurrence time in the historical record,” said Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University. Such a short gap between El Ninos leaves communities with less time to recover from damages to infrastructure, agriculture, and ecosystems like coral reefs.

Large parts of England and Wales have been issued with a thunderstorm weather warning by the Met Office ahead of the weekend.

The UK’s weather service issued the warning on Thursday ahead of what is expected to be the warmest weekend of the year, with central and southern England, and the whole of Wales, set for rain and thunder on Saturday.

The warning comes after weeks of prolonged high pressure which has led to the recent sun and high temperatures but as the high pressure moves north, the UK is expected to see higher temperatures as well as thunder, hail and rain hit central and southern England and Wales.

A change in weather is expected to come at around 2pm on Saturday, with the warning in place until 9pm on Saturday.

Oli Clayden, from the Met Office, confirmed that there could be some travel disruption over the weekend.

He said: “After a prolonged dry spell there is a chance of surface water flooding.

“There could be some surface water issues that could cause travel disruptions as well as the high gusts across parts of the country.”

El Nino has officially returned and is likely to yield extreme weather later this year, from tropical cyclones spinning toward vulnerable Pacific islands to heavy rainfall in South America to drought in Australia.

After three years of the La Nina climate pattern, which often lowers global temperatures slightly, the hotter El Nino is back in action, according to an advisory issued on Thursday by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.

El Nino is born out of unusually warm waters in the Eastern Pacific, near the coast of South America, and often accompanied by a slowing down or reversal of the easterly trade winds.

“In May, weak El Nino conditions emerged as above-average sea surface temperatures strengthened across the equatorial Pacific Ocean,” the advisory said.

The last time an El Nino was in place, in 2016, the world saw its hottest year on record. Coupled with warming from climate change, 2023 or 2024 could reach new highs.

The Met Office has predicted when the UK will get “a warm plume of air being drawn in from the south” that will bring hotter and more unsettled conditions, and will lead to the first heat-health alert of the year.

The latest weather prediction for the UK comes after reports of the arrival of an “Iberian Plume” from the Iberian Peninsula that cuts across Spain and Portugal.

The current high-pressure system that has been responsible for the recent calm weather is now moving towards Scandinavia, making way for hotter air to move, raising temperatures and introducing some thundery showers later this week and into the weekend.

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The Met Office has predicted the UK will get “a warm plume” of hotter weather in the coming weeks, which will lead to the first heat-health alert of the year. The UK is expected to see highs of 30C in the coming weeks.

When spending time outdoors in the sun, it’s essential that you have a constant supply of sunscreen at hand, so that you’re ready to top up your sun protection on a regular basis.

However, with so many different types of sunscreen on the market, it can be difficult to decipher which are actually providing your skin with an adequate degree of protection.

Here’s everything you need to know about sunscreen, from knowing which brands will protect you in the water to understanding the difference between UVA and UVB rays:

Britons are set to bathe in scorching weather this weekend as temperatures are expected to rocket.

A “plume of warm air” from the south will raise the mercury, the Met Office has said, with a chance of 30C for some parts of England.

This will mean England could be hotter than Ibiza and Milan - where temperatures will simmer at 28C.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said: “Temperatures will rise later this week and into the weekend, with a plume of warm air being drawn in from the south.

“Temperatures over the weekend could peak around 30C in some parts of England and remain well above average during night-times.”