Warning for pet owners as temperatures set to hit 31°C in Stamford & Rutland
The Met Office and UK Health Security Agency have issued a Level 3 alert
Last updated 17th Jun 2022
As we experience the hottest weather of the year so far, a charity in Oakham has issued a warning to pet owners about the dangers of hot weather on animals.
The Met Office and UK Health Security Agency have issued a Level 2 'Heat Health Alert' for a large part of the UK.
It is the first one to be issued this year and comes on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.
Parts of the UK will also be warmer than Greek Islands of Santorini, Mykonos and Zakynthos, as well as Los Angeles and parts of Barbados!
The Level 2 alert covers the whole of the South West, London and the South East and the East Midlands, with a Level 1 alert in place for northern England.
But there's warning from a professional dog walking service in Oakham that the high temperatures could be very dangerous for pets.
Jayne Saville is from K9 Country Dog Walking in Oakham and said:
"The dogs most at risk would be elderly dogs, dogs with underlying health issues, flat-faced dogs so French bulldogs, pugs, dogs with longer thicker coats..."
"Something else to bare in mind is the travelling to the walk, if you're taking dogs in the vehicle to somewhere cool you've still got to have a safe way of transporting them, it's no good if you're then putting them in a boiling hot vehicle, they've got to be kept cool on the way to the walk and the way back"
"If the weather's really hot you wouldn't want to walk on the tarmac or hot pavement bare feet and neither would the dogs, dogs cool down through their paws as well so if they're also standing on something hot they're not going to be able to cool down and it's at risk of burning their paw pads"
What is a Level 2 'Heat Health Alert'?
On the four-level heat-health alert scale, which is designed to help healthcare workers manage through periods of extreme temperatures, level 1 is the lowest warning and is the minimum state of vigilance used during the summer months.
Level 2, called alert and readiness, is triggered as soon there is a 60% risk that temperature thresholds will be reached in one or more regions on at least two consecutive days and the intervening night.
A heatwave is defined as three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold.
The threshold varies in each county.