Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo forced to close early for animal wellbeing in 38C heatwave

Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo forced to close early for animal wellbeing in 38C heatwave Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo will both close early as Met Office weather forecasters say heatwave temperatures could rise as high as 38C in some parts of England The UK's biggest zoo as well as London's major zoo are both set to close early tomorrow due to scorching temperatures. A rarely seen amber weather warning for "extreme heat" is due to come into place tomorrow at 9am until midnight. The Met Office says temperatures are expected to rise to up to 38C in some areas, possibly leading to "impacts on transport, infrastructure and health". This is the fifth heatwave of the summer in the UK Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire and London Zoo in central London, both run by conservation charity ZSL, will close two hours early tomorrow to support the animals' wellbeing and that of workers and visitors. A statement on both zoo's social media channels reads: "Due to the forecast hot weather, the Zoo will close at 4pm (last entry 3pm) on Thursday 13 August. "We're looking forward to welcoming visitors as usual during the day, but are temporarily closing earlier to help support the wellbeing of our animals, visitors and staff during the hottest part of the afternoon." The sites usually close at 6pm. More than 10,000 animals, from Asian elephants to numerous species of butterflies and invertebrates, can be seen across 600 acres at Whipsnade Zoo. This makes the site the biggest of its kind in the UK, welcoming close to one million visitors each year. London Zoo is much smaller, with just 36 acres, but its 8,000 animals in Regent's Park attract more than 1.2million visitors yearly. Both Bedfordshire and London are covered by the Met Office's extreme heat warning, but also by an amber heat health alert issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). During the heatwave at the end of June, the two zoos also closed early as temperatures were in the high 30s. Met Office weather forecast Temperatures could hit 33C today before potentially reaching highs of 38C on Thursday, the Met Office say. Met Office chief forecaster Chris Bulmer said: “While the peak heat will be more short-lived than recent heatwaves, temperatures widely into the mid-30s Celsius on Thursday brings the potential for impacts for some, which is why a Met Office warning has been issued. “High pressure is now becoming dominant and temperatures will build day by day. "Southerly and south-easterly winds will also tap into the hot conditions over Europe which helps develop this further notable heat in what has been a hot and dry summer so far for many in the south of the UK.”