‘Secret-killer’: Heatwave threshold rise offers window into how climate emergency is impacting Britain

Heatwaves are by far the deadliest extreme event in Europe and in the UK, writes Saphora Smith

Average temperatures are rising across the UK, particularly in parts of central and eastern England. (Getty Images)

The news that the Met Office is increasing the temperature threshold for heatwaves across parts of England offers the latest window into how the climate emergency is affecting life in Britain.

The government body has announced that heatwaves will now need to be hotter, with the temperature threshold being increasedfrom 27C to 28C in six English counties: Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

It also said that the temperature threshold in Lincolnshire would be raised from 26C to 27C and similarly in East Riding, Yorkshire from 25C to 26C.