Met Office names 98 UK areas facing 'high humidity' overnight on Thursday - full list

Met Office names 98 UK areas facing 'high humidity' overnight on Thursday - full list The UK is sweltering under a heatwave with record temperatures and red alert warnings in place — and the Met Office says conditions feel worse than previous heatwaves due to high humidity and elevated overnight temperatures The Met Office has cautioned that overnight heat will keep homes uncomfortably warm as 'high humidities' make conditions feel even more oppressive. Britain is currently baking in a heatwave as record-breaking temperatures have been reached and red alert warnings put in place. Forecasters say this heatwave feels more intense than some previous ones due to 'somewhat different' conditions. The Met Office has warned that nighttime temperatures are also a major concern, with warm, humid air making it increasingly difficult for both people and buildings to cool down. The red alert heat warning covering large parts of England states that temperatures are unlikely to fall much lower than high teens, and some places will not fall below low 20s Celsius overnight. These high temperatures will also be accompanied by high humidity. Met Office forecaster Aiden McGivern explained on the Met Office YouTube channel that the overnight impact can be considerable, as temperatures remain high well after dark. "It's not just the daytime temperatures to be concerned about," he said. "It's those overnight temperatures, meaning that overnight buildings and homes won't get a chance to cool down. Likewise, we won't be able to cool down so much because of the high humidities." This heatwave feels hotter than previous heatwaves because of the humidity levels. He said: "It feels somewhat different, especially when you take into account the humidity," adding that, "in many ways the heat index is much higher". He explained that the Met Office's focus extends beyond simply reading the thermometer. "It's the heat index that we're most concerned about. It's that level of heat and humidity combined that can cause so many severe impacts." The meteorologist highlighted the knock-on effect of buildings retaining heat. He said: "It's because of the day-by-day cumulative effects of the heat that these buildings are going to stay so warm". Temperatures have been soaring this week due to a "heat-dome" settling over western Europe, bringing extreme conditions across the continent and the UK. Areas facing heatwave conditions overnight on Thursday: East Midlands - Derby - Derbyshire - Leicester - Leicestershire - Lincolnshire - Northamptonshire - Nottingham - Nottinghamshire - Rutland East of England - Bedford - Cambridgeshire - Central Bedfordshire - Essex - Hertfordshire - Luton - Norfolk - Peterborough - Southend-on-Sea - Suffolk - Thurrock London & South East England - Bracknell Forest - Brighton and Hove - Buckinghamshire - East Sussex - Greater London - Hampshire - Isle of Wight - Kent - Medway - Milton Keynes - Oxfordshire - Portsmouth - Reading - Slough - Southampton - Surrey - West Berkshire - West Sussex - Windsor and Maidenhead - Wokingham North West England - Blackburn with Darwen - Blackpool - Cheshire East - Cheshire West and Chester - Greater Manchester - Halton - Lancashire - Merseyside - Warrington South West England - Bath and North East Somerset - Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole - Bristol - Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Gloucestershire - North Somerset - Plymouth - Somerset - South Gloucestershire - Swindon - Torbay - Wiltshire Wales - Blaenau Gwent - Bridgend - Caerphilly - Cardiff - Carmarthenshire - Ceredigion - Conwy - Denbighshire - Flintshire - Gwynedd - Isle of Anglesey - Merthyr Tydfil - Monmouthshire - Neath Port Talbot - Newport - Pembrokeshire - Powys - Rhondda Cynon Taf - Swansea - Torfaen - Vale of Glamorgan - Wrexham West Midlands - Herefordshire - Shropshire - Staffordshire - Stoke-on-Trent - Telford and Wrekin - Warwickshire - West Midlands Conurbation - Worcestershire Yorkshire & Humber - East Riding of Yorkshire - North Lincolnshire - North Yorkshire - South Yorkshire - West Yorkshire