Heatwave No5 this year prompts bereaved parents to issue urgent warning

Heatwave No5 this year prompts bereaved parents to issue urgent warning As we head into yet another heatwave bereaved families warn of the 'horrific' pain of losing a loved as they urge the public to take care around water. The fifth heatwave of the year is likely to be declared in the coming days as temperatures hit 36C in central and south-east England prompting a warning from bereaved families. The “historic and unprecedented change to the UK’s climate will see temperature once again climb this week with drought likely to be declared across more of the UK. The hot weather has led to a spate of terrible tragedies which has been described as a ‘public health emergency’. So far At least 40 people have lost their lives in water-related incidents since May 24 including a 13-year-old who died in Hornsea last week. Families who have suffered the horror of losing a loved one in drowning tragedies have spoken to The Mirror this weekend, urging caution and pleading with new PM Andy Burnham to appoint a water safety minister. Simon Haycock, 56, whose son Sam died and who leads The Mirror’s ‘Save Lives for Sam’ water safety campaign said: “I am praying for rain! There’s another heatwave coming and the risk and all the dangers of open water still exist and are still as dangerous as ever. “ His 16-year-old son Sam Haycock was celebrating after his last day of school, when he drowned in May 2021 at Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham “Please be careful and avoid open water sites. It’s still red hot but the danger still exists. Anyone, whether you could swim or not, is in danger. “The impact when it does go wrong is absolutely devastating and it literally changes your life forever in the most horrific way.” And about Prime Minister Andy Burnham backing our campaign recently, he added: “I am over the moon about his support but he needs to act now.” Vanessa Abbess, whose 17-year-old son, Joe, died after getting into difficulty in the water off Bournemouth beach in 2023, told the Mirror on Sunday: “I used to like summer but now it’s painful, the multiple drownings are triggering. “Every death is a person, a bereaved family, a changed future. We love and miss Joe every single day and he’s always in our thoughts and always absent. “Please assess the risk, don’t be naive, talk about water safety with your family and friends. It could save their lives. It’s a public health emergency, anyone can drown but no one should. “Andy Burnham please, please, please listen we need a water safety minister now to save lives.” Temperatures could reach 36C (97F) on Wednesday and Thursday. Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for most of England until Tuesday, with warnings of impacts for health and social care services and an increased risk to life for vulnerable people. This summer has seen multiple records broken with July becoming the sunniest month on record for the UK, as well as the driest July on record for England and Wales. There have so far been 33 days this year when temperatures have exceeded 30C in the UK. Next week, it is likely the record of 34 days, set in 1995, will be broken. For the first time ever, a temperature of 35C has also been recorded somewhere in the UK in three consecutive months, May, June and July. In the annual Met Office "state of the UK climate" report published last week, experts told how warmer conditions are being imported into the south, and colder climates in the north are shrinking. This man-made climate change has mostly been caused by burning fossil fuels. It made 2025 the warmest year on record, dating back to 1884. It joins 2024, 2023 and 2022 on the list of the top five warmest years ever. Mike Kendon from the Met Office, lead author of the report, said: "We are right now living in a time of historic and unprecedented change, and in terms of temperature, on annual, seasonal, monthly and daily timescales, this evidence shows the climate of the 20th century has now gone."