WEATHER ALERT: Health officials' warning for Northamptonshire to stay out of the sun

Health officials have put Northamptonshire on high alert as temperatures start to soar in the county.

Public Health England issued a Level Three amber heatwave action warning which is valid until 9pm on Friday (June 26) urging people in the county to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day between 11am and 3pm.

Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-30s across the county today and tomorrow and many weather watchers are predicting the warmest June day in Northamptonshire for more than 20 years.

An amber alert is one level below red — or a "national emergency".

A spokesman for PHE said: "Our advice is to look out for others, especially older people, young children and babies and those with underlying health conditions.

"Close curtains on rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces cooler and remember it may be cooler outdoors than indoors.

"Drink plenty of fluids land avoid excess alcohol, dress appropriately for the weather and slow down when it's hot."

Pollen levels are also rocketing, making it a miserable day for hay fever sufferers.

Forecasters at Northamptonshire Weather reported thermometers already hitting 20°C by 8am today (Wednesday).

The Heat-Health Watch Service is based on information from the Met Office and aimed at the health sector and designed help healthcare professionals manage through periods of extreme temperature.

DON'T FORGET: You can check the latest weather forecasts on the Chronicle & Echo website in association with @NNweather HERE.

A Met Office spokesman said: "We forecast day-time and night-time maximum temperatures, which are monitored regionally.

"When certain heat thresholds are passed, a warning is issued and sent to relevant health professionals and people working in social care as well as displayed on our website.

"This enables health and social care professionals to take action to minimise the impact of the heat on people's health."

"A Level 3 alert is triggered when the Met Office confirms threshold temperatures for one of more regions have been reached for one day and the following night, and the forecast for the next day has a greater than 90 per cent confidence level that the day threshold temperature will be met.

"This stage requires social and healthcare services to target specific actions at high-risk groups."

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