The Met Office has issued the first-ever Red warning for “exceptional heat” as temperatures of 40°C have been forecast in the UK.
The national weather service has forecasted that exceptional heat is expected to affect a large part of England early next week – with temperatures likely in to be in the high 30°Cs in some places, and the most extreme cases, it could potentially even reach 40°C.
The Red extreme heat national severe weather warning will cover parts of central, northern, eastern, and southeastern England on Monday 18 July and Tuesday 19 July.
This elevated weather warning comes after an an Amber Extreme heat warning, has been in place for much of England and Wales for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (17-19July) since earlier this week – but as of today, the Met Office says the amber areas are also being extended to cover Cornwall, west Wales, and parts of southern Scotland too.
“Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely early next week, quite widely across the red warning area on Monday, and focussed a little more east and north on Tuesday,” explained Paul Gundersen, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office.
“Currently, there is a 50% chance we could see temperatures top 40°C, and 80% we will see a new maximum temperature reached.
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“Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas.
“This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure, and therefore, it is important people plan for the heat and consider changing their routines. This level of heat can have adverse health effects.”
Met Office issues the UK’s first ever Red warning for ‘extreme heat’ / Credit: Met Office
The step up in warning level to red is running parrell to an increase in the current Heat Health Warning to Level 4 for England by the UK Health Security Agency.
Level 4 is used when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system, and at this level, illness may occur among fit and healthy people – not just those in high-risk groups.
Will it really hit 40 C within the next week? ☀️🥵
Here's Alex with an explanation of whether or not we think it's likely to happen 👇 pic.twitter.com/KnsPkJ2qql
Speaking ahead of the arrival of the warm weather, Dr Agostinho Sousa – Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA – said: “Heat-health alerts have now been issued to the majority of the country, with temperatures set to remain consistently high throughout the duration of the weekend and the start of next week.
“It is important to keep yourself hydrated and to find shade where possible when UV rays are strongest, between 11am and 3pm.
“If you have vulnerable family, friends and neighbours, make sure they are aware of how they can keep themselves protected from the warm weather.”
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
15th July 2022 
