West Midlands facing 33-hour rare amber 'heat' alert with one group most at risk
The amber warning will run from 9am on Tuesday, August 12, to 6pm, Thursday, August 13.
It comes as the fourth heatwave of the summer is set to arrive today (August 11).
READ MORE: All the Midlands areas set for heatwave arriving today and how long it will last
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Heat health alerts are issued by the Met Office in conjunction with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) during periods of hot weather.
The UKHSA said there could be likely "significant impacts" across health and social care services including a "rise in deaths, particularly among those ages 65 and over or with health conditions".
But the UKHSA said younger age groups face impacts too.
The hot conditions are set to place extra demand on health and social care services, while the temperature inside hospitals and care homes could "exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment".
Meanwhile, there could be increased demand on energy usage, while the hot weather could cause travel delays.
Overall, the West Midlands has been given a risk score of 12 out of 16.
The region has been given an amber alert alongside the South East, London, East Midlands and East of England.
Explaining what an amber alert is, the Met Office said: "An amber alert would represent a situation in which the expected impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, with potential for the whole population to be at risk and where other sectors apart from health may also start to observe impacts, indicating that a coordinated response is required.
"In addition, in some circumstances a National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS) Extreme Heat warning may be issued in conjunction with and aligned to the HHA.
"This situation would indicate that significant impacts are expected across multiple sectors."
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