Amber heat alert issued for Peterborough as fifth heatwave of the summer arrives - here’s how hot it could get this week

An amber heat health alert for Peterborough is now in effect, with temperatures once again forecast to hit 30C this week.

The amber alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), is in place between 9am today (Monday, August 3) and 9am on Wednesday (August 5).

Warning of “significant” impacts across health and social care services due to the high temperatures, the alert has been prompted by the region’s fifth heatwave of the summer already.

Peterborough has endured an exceptionally hot and dry summer so far, with early provisional Met Office statistics showing that England is on course to record its driest July in 190 years.

Many parts of the country experienced just 1mm of rainfall in July.

Met Office Scientist Dr Emily Carlisle, said: "The headline story for July is undoubtedly the rainfall.

“Across parts of England and Wales we've seen extraordinarily low totals, with some locations recording little or no meaningful rainfall for much of the month.

“Provisional figures suggest this could be one of the driest Julys in nearly two centuries of records, which is particularly notable when coupled with the exceptional heat experienced so far this summer.”

How hot could it get in Peterborough this week?

We may have entered a new month, but the first full week of August looks set to be a continuation of July’s theme: hot weather.

Today is expected to bring the hottest weather of the week, with a surge of hot air moving north from France.

According to the Met Office, temperatures could hit 30C this afternoon and remain in the low 20s as night falls.

On Tuesday (August 4), temperatures are expected to remain in the high 20s.

Temperatures will drop to around 25C on Wednesday, cooling further on Thursday (August 6) to more tolerable highs of 21C.

A weak, cold front will bring cooler Atlantic air from midweek, but no rain appears in this week’s forecast for Peterborough.