The hottest day of the year in the UK was recorded on Thursday as the country basked in temperatures of more than 29°C.
Thursday's highest temperature of 29.5°C was recorded at Northolt in West London, passing the year's high of 28.2°C recorded at Kew Gardens on Wednesday.
London and some spots in East Anglia are expected to reach a sweltering 34°C on Friday, the Met Office said.
Away from the capital and the south-east, most of England and Wales is expected to hit between 27°C and 30°C — hotter than parts of Jamaica and the Maldives.
But experts, some of whom attribute the heat to climate change, have warned people of the dangers with the hot weather.
“The health implications of rising temperatures in the UK are serious," said Dr Radhika Khosla, of the University of Oxford.
“Important physiological changes occur in response to high temperatures, including changes in our circulatory, nervous and respiratory systems.
“When these adaptive measures are not enough, the risk of cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular problems increases among older adults, young children, people with chronic conditions, athletes and outdoor workers.
“Severe heat disrupts sleep, impairs cognitive performance and is associated with increased risk of suicide or hospital admission for mental illness.”
Record high temperatures and rising sea levels, warns UN weather agency report - video
The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued a Level 3 heat-health alert for London, and the east and south-east of England.
It follows the Level 2 alert issued on Tuesday and confirms that the Met Office’s threshold temperatures for an alert will be reached in three regions from Friday.
A Level 2 alert remains in place for the East Midlands and the south-west.
“Heatwaves are one of the most deadly natural hazards," said Dr Vikki Thompson, climate scientist at the University of Bristol Cabot Institute for the Environment, in the UK.
"Three thousand deaths were linked to heatwaves in 2021.
“The health issues related to heat include direct effects, such as heatstroke and cardiovascular failure, and indirect effects, including poorer mental health and an increase in accidents such as car crashes and drownings.”
Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: “Reaching 34°C during June is a rare, but not unprecedented event in the historical climate records for the UK.
“But if it should happen this week it would be notable that it would have occurred on three days during the last six Junes.”
“Despite the official warnings, some people still underestimate the effects of heat and don’t change their plans to take it into account," said Prof Hannah Cloke, of the University of Reading.
“We need to consider how people react to the current warnings and continue to improve them. A warning system that people ignore is next to useless.
“Thousands of people already die due to excess heat in the UK, and climate change will only make heatwaves more frequent and more extreme in the future.
"Let’s not wait for people to die before we take heatwaves seriously.”
Britain’s highest recorded June UK temperature was 35.6°C at Southampton Mayflower Park in June 1976, and forecasters do not expect that to be passed this week.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
The Good Liar
Starring: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen
Directed by: Bill Condon
Three out of five stars
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