Brits warned NOT to go outside during these hours today as heatwave tears through UK

Brits are being urged to avoid going outside at particular times todaywhen the sun poses the highest risk to life.

Many will be heading out to beach and green spaces up and down the country today as weather maps turn a glowing redand temperatures rocket up well above 30C. The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber alert which will remain in place until 6pm tomorrow as experts warn the public to be mindful of heat and water safety.

The risk to life is real, with NHS figures showing 30 people died in the UK from excessive natural heat between 2013 and 2022. In the same period of time, around 2,100 people were admitted to hospital after being exposed to soaring temperatures.

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The mercury is predicted to be highest in London and the south-east and the London Ambulance Service has been sharing advice through its social media channels, telling Londoners how to keep safe in the stifling conditions.

In a reel posted on Instagram, paramedics explained how people are most at risk during certain times of the day, when the sun is at its height in the sky. They advise people to completely "avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm where possible".

The service also advises people to take preventative medication for conditions like hayfever and asthma, and to check in on loved ones who are more vulnerable and may have pre-existing illnesses. Those over the age of 65 may also need to be checked in on, they say. One of the most important points is to drink plenty of water and to ensure you have plenty of it to hand at all times.

The UKHSA alerts are designed to warn health and social care workers about the impacts of hot weather on their services, including possible weather-related deaths in those aged 65 or with long-term conditions. They are not public weather warnings.

Elsewhere a yellow heat alert, less serious than amber, has also been issued for Yorkshire and Humber as well as the West Midlands.

Holidaymakers in Europe are also being warned to keep cool as the continent swelters in a 42C ‘heat dome’ with ambulances on standby near tourist hotspots in Spain, Portugal, and France and heat stroke pathways set up in some hospitals in Italy.

In Portugal, several areas in the southern half of the country, including the capital Lisbon, are under a red warning for heat until this evening due to “persistently extremely high maximum temperature values”, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). In Italy, 21 cities are on high alert for extreme heat, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence and Rome.