Greater Manchester and the north west have not been included in the warning
Temperatures are forecast to surpass 30C over the coming days(Image: Met Office)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued its first heat-health alert of 2026, with five UK areas hit with a warning.
From 9am on Friday, May 22, the East Midlands, east of England, London, West Midland and south east England will be affected by a yellow heat-health alert issued by the UKHSA in collaboration with the Met Office. The alert is set to remain in place until 5pm on Wednesday, May 27.
It comes as parts of the UK are set to see the first 2026 heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 31C in parts of London and southern England.
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A Met Office spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News: “There is an increasing chance of heatwave thresholds being met across parts of England and Wales from Sunday onward.
“By Sunday, if the thresholds are met, this is most likely to happen in areas near to and just north of London, perhaps into parts of the southeast Midlands and east Midlands. On Monday, heatwave thresholds could be met across a wider area, including central southern England and perhaps parts of southwest England and east Wales.”
The UKHSA-Met Office alerting system provides an early warning when adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population.
It aims to provide early warning to the health and social care sector, the responder community, the voluntary and community sector and government departments when adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population.
According to the Met Office and the UKHSA, when a yellow heat-health alert is in effect, minor impacts are likely across health and social services, including: increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people, greater risk to life of vulnerable people, and increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Met Office wrote: “It’s been a cool May – so far. That’s set to change quite dramatically over the coming days.
“A prolonged period of very warm weather is now increasingly likely. Temperatures will rise to well above average for May with the hottest spots possibly exceeding 30 Celsius.”
Here is a full list of the UK areas affected by the yellow heat-health alert.
Full list of UK areas with UKHSA heat-health alert
- East Midlands
- East of England
- London
- West Midlands
- South east England
UK areas not included in heat-health alert
- North east England
- North west England
- Yorkshire and Humber
- South west England
