Heat-health watch alert set at level 1 for England

NHS England issued a level 1 heat-health watch alert for England, headed "summer preparedness", at 6:25am on Sunday 19 June 2022¹. The alert states that temperatures are not expected to reach heatwave threshold values until further notice¹.

The level 1 notice follows a series of higher alerts issued earlier in June. On Tuesday 14 June, NHS England issued a level 2 "alert and readiness" notice, which said there was a 60% probability of heat-health alert criteria being met between midnight on Friday 17 June and midnight on Sunday 19 June in parts of England². On Wednesday 15 June, two further notices were published: a level 3 "heatwave action" alert issued at 8.55am, and a level 2 "alert and readiness" notice issued at 8:39am, both stating a 90% probability of criteria being met over the same period in parts of England³.

The dates on the pages do not match exactly. The level 1 page carries a publication date of 20 June 2022, a day after the issue time given in its text¹. The level 2 page of 14 June shows a last updated date of 7 July 2022².

Each notice carries the same line on health risk:

The notices direct readers to NHS advice on coping in hot weather and to the Met Office website for further weather alert detail¹.

Why it matters for households

The level 1 status means that, at the time of issue, temperatures across England were not expected to meet the thresholds at which a heatwave is declared¹. The higher-level notices issued earlier in the week covered the period from midnight on Friday 17 June to midnight on Sunday 19 June, in parts of England rather than the whole country². NHS England states that hot weather could increase health risks for vulnerable patients, and points to NHS guidance on coping in hot weather¹. The Met Office thresholds that determine when a heatwave is declared are set out in the site's guide to the official definition of a heatwave in the UK, and the alert levels themselves are explained in Heat-Health Alerts: Yellow, Amber and Red Explained. Households can register for alerts through the guide to signing up for heat-health alerts, and wider summer guidance sits in the heatwaves and drought hub.

What happens next

The level 1 notice states that temperatures are not expected to reach heatwave threshold values "until further notice"¹. No further issue date or review date is given in the notice itself¹.