The Met Office has issued the first ever amber alert for ‘extreme heat’ as the mercury reaches high temperatures above 30C
Swindonians got to bask in the sunshine, and there’s more of that in the coming days before the sweet relief offered by thunderstorms.
On Tuesday temperatures are expected to reach 30C at 5pm, with a slight drop to 22C in the evening.
We’ll continue to experience the sizzling weather throughout Wednesday and Thursday, when the amber warning for extreme heat ends.
There’s a yellow alert for thunderstorms in the South East tonight, so we can only hope it will make its way to Wiltshire next.
On Friday we can expect it to feel a bit muggy, with a forecast of 25C and cloudy. Saturday morning Swindonians could wake up to heavy showers, expected to last until the evening.
How to cool down your house in the midst of a heatwave
We’re already one heatwave down, and there’s probably more to come, but summer can prove tricky when we’re away from air-conditioned offices, and escaping abroad for a week by the pool still isn’t guaranteed.
1. Get a fan
Fewer than one per cent of UK homes come equipped with air conditioning (and most of the time we all know why), so if you want cold air blowing your way, a plug-in fan is likely the easiest way to go.
2. Sleep with cotton sheets
No place for duvets in this weather! Cotton is more breathable than satin and silk, and light-coloured cotton bedsheets are probably the coolest coverings you’ll find.
Read more: Can you sunbathe naked in your garden? This is what the law says
3. Close the curtains
Closed curtains and blinds are often associated with stuffiness, but by exposing all your windows at the start of a scorching day, you can basically trap yourself in an enormous greenhouse. Black-out blinds are especially effective at blocking incoming rays if you’re willing to opt for something a little more heavy duty.
4. Engage in cooling activities
It’s not exactly rocket science, but cold drinks can cool you down; damp cloths can cool you down; and cold showers can cool you down a lot. Ice your wrists, pop your feet in a bucket of cold water, eat a lot of ice lollies – you have options
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