TEMPERATURES are predicted to hit 31C in St Helens on Sunday afternoon ahead of record-breaking highs next week.

The Met Office has forecast dry weather as temperatures soar, meaning an amber extreme heat warning comes into force.

The North West is predicted to have a cloudier day.

Hour-by-hour forecast for St Helens on Sunday

7am: 18C Cloudy

8am: 19C Cloudy

9am: 20C Cloudy

10am: 22C Cloudy

11am: 24C Cloudy

noon: 26C Cloudy

1pm: 28C Sunny intervals

2pm: 29C Sunny intervals

3pm: 30C Sunny intervals

4pm: 31C Sunny

5pm: 30C Sunny intervals

6pm: 30C Sunny

7pm: 29C Sunny

8pm: 28C Sunny

9pm: 27C Sunny

10pm: 25C Clear night

11pm: 24C Clear night

midnight: 23C Clear night

Meanwhile, red warnings are in place on Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures set to rocket to 33C on Monday and 36 on Tuesday.

 

Cabinet Office Minister Kit Malthouse warned transport services face “significant disruption” next week due to the heatwave, urging people not to travel.

Ministers held an emergency Cobra meeting on Saturday after meteorologists warned of record high temperatures in England next week that could put lives at risk.

After chairing the meeting, Mr Malthouse told the BBC: “Obviously the transport providers are messaging people that they should only travel if they really need to on Monday and Tuesday.

St Helens Star:

“Services are going to be significantly affected. The heat will affect rails, for example, so the trains have to run slower. There may be fewer services. People need to be on their guard for disruption.

“If they don’t have to travel, this may be a moment to work from home.”

Mr Malthouse said steps have been taken to ensure hospitals and ambulances that may come under pressure were prepared, while schools were being issued with guidance to enable them to remain open.

He added in a separate statement: “It’s important that we all continue to follow public health advice to keep cool, and take simple precautions like drinking lots of water and seeking shade, and also checking on vulnerable friends and neighbours.”

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Saturday kick started the beginning of the heatwave, with Heathrow Airport and Kew Gardens, in west London, recording the highest temperature of 29.1C.

The warm weather saw increased demand for water in some parts, with South East water confirming residents in Challock and Molash, in Kent, having no water due to “continuous hot weather and significantly increased demand for water” putting “significant pressure on our network”.

A statement from the supplier said: “We’re continuing to work on restoring your supplies, and will continue to work on this overnight.

“As a precaution, we’re going to open up the bottled water station at Challock Village Hall tomorrow morning, at 8am.

“The team will be there until 7pm tomorrow night.”

Meteorologists have given an 80% chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C, set in Cambridge in 2019, with the current heatwave set to peak on Tuesday.

Temperatures are forecast to increase by several more degrees on Tuesday – up to the mid-30s for much of England and Wales.

There is a 50% chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK that day, likely along the A1 corridor which runs from London to Scotland through counties including Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and the North East.

Following the issuing of the Met Office’s first red warning for extreme heat, covering a swathe of England from London to Manchester and York on Monday and Tuesday, its chief executive Penny Endersby said people can find it hard to to know what to expect when “climate change has driven such unprecedented severe weather events”.

“Here in the UK we’re used to treating a hot spell as a chance to go and play in the sun,” she added.

“This is not that sort of weather.”