A four-day heat health alert has been issued starting today for most of England, as temperatures are expected to reach 31C in some areas. Forecasters have also predicted that today will be the warmest day of the week.

Heatwaves have hit the northern hemisphere, bringing scorching temperatures from Canada to India and Saudi Arabia. The arrival of summer has led to extreme heat in many countries, with deadly consequences. In northern India, a heatwave has been ongoing, with Delhi experiencing a minimum night temperature of 35.2C, the highest recorded since June 2010. Ganganagar, near the Pakistan border, saw a maximum temperature of 44.7C on Wednesday. The soaring temperatures have resulted in a surge in power demand, reaching a record high of 8,647MW for Delhi alone and nearly 90,000MW for northern India as a whole. The intense heat even caused a plane to be grounded without air conditioning for over an hour. The impact of these heatwaves is significant, highlighting the need for measures to cope with extreme temperatures in the face of climate change.