A heat-health alert has been issued across the UK, with temperatures forecast to soar for much of the country this week.
Announced by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the UK government, the alert – which is said to act as an early warning system for periods of high temperatures that may affect the public’s health – will be in place from midday today until 6pm on Saturday 13 August for all regions of England.
The UKHSA says its heat-health alert service is designed to help healthcare professionals manage through periods of extreme temperature.
A level 3 alert is in place for southern and central England, and a level 2 for the North.
Although the Met Office says temperatures are not forecast to reach the record-breaking levels of the most recent heatwave back in July, they are expected to continue to rise throughout the week, potentially reaching mid-30°C Friday and Saturday in the South East, London, the South West, and the East and West Midlands.
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Much of Greater Manchester, however, is only forecast to see temperatures in the late-20s, with a peak of 30°C expected on Friday and Saturday.
With temps forecast to get warmer this week, we've issued a heat-health alert for all regions in England. We want everyone to enjoy the warm weather safely, so it's important to ensure that people who are more vulnerable are prepared for the hot weather. #WeatherReady ☀
“Temperatures will feel very warm again this week, particularly in southern and central parts of the country,” explained Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at the UKHSA.
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“We want everyone to enjoy the warm weather safely when it arrives but remember that heat can have a fast impact on health, so it’s important to ensure that people who are more vulnerable p elderly people who live alone, and people with underlying health conditions – are prepared for coping during the hot weather.
“The most important advice is to ensure they stay hydrated, keep cool and take steps to prevent their homes from overheating.”
The heat-health warning issued ahead of rising temperatures comes after the Met Office recently-raised the temperatures that have to be reached for an official heatwave to be recorded in eight English counties – which was a move said to have been taken to reflect the warming conditions in the UK.
Weather officials have however said heatwave criteria “looks likely to be met” across large parts of the country this week.
Temperatures are forecast to build this week, with heatwave thresholds likely to be met for much of the UK, particularly England and Wales.
Speaking on the forecast for the week, Tony Wardle – Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office – said: “Heatwave criteria look likely to be met for large areas of the UK later this week, with the hottest areas expected in central and southern England and Wales on Friday and Saturday.
“Temperatures could peak at 35⁰C, or even an isolated 36⁰C on Saturday.
“Elsewhere will see temperatures widely into the high 20s and low 30s Celsius later this week as temperatures build day-on-day through the week due to an area of high pressure extending over much of the UK.”
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More information about staying safe during warm weather can be found on the UKHSA website.
Featured Image – Flickr
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Environment Agency officially declares a drought in north west England
Emily Sergeant
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in the north west of England following the driest start to spring in 69 years.
It comes after river flows and groundwater levels have been declining due to the dry March, April, and start of May, and now reservoir storage levels in the region are also receding too, meaning at this moment in time, they’re currently lower than they were during the famous drought years of 1984, 1995, and 2022.
According to the Environment Agency (EA), a decision to declare drought is taken based on reservoir levels, river flows, and moisture in the soil, along with taking into consideration weather forecasts on a long-term basis.
Declaring drought status enables the EA to ‘plan, deliver, and manage’ actions in drought plans.
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in north west England / Credit: Pxhere
However, there is no single definition for drought, the EA admits, so while it’s a given that it’s caused by a period of low rainfall, the nature, timing, and impacts on people, the environment, agriculture, or business will vary.
Some droughts are short and intense, while others are long and take time to develop over multiple seasons.
Although there has been some welcome rain across the North West in recent days, the EA says this is ‘not enough to reverse the dry start to the year’ and is definitely not enough to cover the expected hotter weather in the coming weeks, which it believes is only set to ‘exacerbate’ the situation.
The decision by the EA to move the region into drought status means the regulator will increase its operational response throughout the summer.
It follows what has been the driest start to spring for the region in 69 years / Credit: David Dixon (via Geograph)
This will be all while ensuring that water company United Utilities steps up the actions agreed in its drought plans – including fixing leaks, communicating with customers and supporting them to reduce demand, and submitting drought permits to take more water, as and where needed.
According to the EA, if these actions are taken in a ‘timely manner’ will help preserve supplies for people and the environment.
“Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon,” explained Andy Brown, who is the Water Regulation Manager at the Environment Agency. “As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent and this poses an enormous challenge over the next few decades.
“Despite the rain over the weekend levels remain low and we are encouraging people to be aware of the impacts of drought as we enter the summer period.
“With further unsettled periods and rainfall over the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Drought Plan.”
Trafford gymnastics coach jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting young girls
Emily Sergeant
A gymnastics coach from Trafford has been jailed after being found guilty of non-recent rape and sexual assault against young girls he taught.
It comes after a woman bravely came forward to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in September 2020 to disclose the prolonged abuse she suffered at the hands of a sports coach during her youth – with the years of offending spanning from the late 1980s to the early 90s.
That coach was Michael Haynes, from the Urmston area of Trafford.
Mr Haynes, who is now 77 years old, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced this week after a four-week trial.
During the trial, the court heard how in the late 80s, one of the victims – who was 11 at the time – joined Trafford School of Gymnastics, and it was here where Haynes first sexually assaulted her by inappropriately touching her through her clothing as he was appearing to ‘help’ her with stretching exercises.
This progressed over time, and eventually turned from sexual touching to rape – with offences occurring in his vehicle whilst he was assisting the victim’s family to transport her to and from the gymnastics club.
Following these discoveries, then in December 2023, another woman learned that Haynes was to stand trial for sexual offences and bravely came forward to the police to report what happened to her when she was around 12 years old and had already been at the gymnastics school for years with Haynes.
Michael Haynes / Credit: GMP
The court learned how Haynes began inappropriately asking her about relationships with other boys her age, before proceeding to touch her leg and sexually assault her.
“Michael Haynes violated boundaries I hadn’t yet learned how to name,” the first victim tragically explained in a victim impact statement.
“I didn’t understand what had happened, or how I felt about it. I just knew something had shifted in me. Something had been taken by someone I trusted, and I carried confusion and shame for many years. I still live with the effects of what happened, but I also live with pride in who I’ve become. All you have left now is shame.”
Michael Haynes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape and 11 counts of sexual assault against two girls.
Following the sentencing this week, Detective Inspector Rick Lees, of Trafford’s CID, said: “This was a harrowing investigation, and I would like to thank the survivors for their bravery in coming forward after all these years and reporting what happened to them.
“I cannot imagine the psychological effect that this abuse had on them over the years, and I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure and a sense of justice.”
Following the investigation, GMP said it believes there may be further victims of Haynes’ from the same time period who may have previously felt unable to come forward.
“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual abuse, whether it be recent or non-recent to please get in touch with us, no matter how long ago it was, we will listen to you, and we can help,” DI Lees concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
9th August 2022 
