Households in 50 UK areas urged to fill up hot water bottle from Wednesday

Households in 50 areas of the UK are being urged to fill up a hot water bottle from Wednesday as temperatures of 40C are forecast.

The Met Office has issued a rare red warning for extreme heat for parts of central and southern England and Wales from 9am on Wednesday until 9pm on Thursday as the heatwave reaches scorching levels. The exceptionally hot weather is expected to last for two to three days, with maximum temperatures in the shade forecast to exceed 37C, perhaps rising to 38C to 40C in some places. The Met Office has warned that the heat will be accompanied by high humidity, which will make conditions feel more uncomfortable and mean some ‘tropical nights’ are in store over the coming days, with temperatures expected to remain above 20C, particularly in urban areas.

The combination of high temperatures and high humidity will make it harder for people to recover from the heat overnight, the Met Office said, so households are urged to adapt their routines where possible to cope with the weather.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Tom Crabtree said: “The forecast heatwave is developing into an impactful severe weather event, with record-breaking June temperatures and very high humidity. The combination of heat and humidity will be oppressive and bring impacts across society from public health and infrastructure, to power and water supplies.

“As well as very high daytime temperatures, there will be consecutive nights where temperatures do not drop below 20°C, which is called a Tropical Night. This will make it very hard for people to recover from the daytime heat, exacerbating the heat stress impacts.”

High humidity can make sleep pretty uncomfortable with the heat making it difficult to drift off, resulting in a frustrating night of tossing, turning and kicking the quilt off in a desperate attempt to cool down. But rather than resorting to running fans for hours on end to cool your room, all you really need is a hot water bottle.

While the primary purpose of a hot water bottle is to keep you lovely and warm, it can also be used to achieve the opposite effect if you fill it up with cold water instead.

Simply fill up a hot water bottle with ice-cold water and place it in your bed just before you go to sleep to help cool down your sheets and pillow.

You can also hold it against your skin to cool yourself down, but remember to wrap it in a cover or a tea towel if it’s icy to avoid direct contact with your skin.

To make it even colder, fill the bottle with cold water and put it in the freezer, but be wary of leaving it in there for too long, as it can damage the rubber, which could cause it to burst the next time hot water is added.

So if you do put it in the freezer, make sure to only fill the bottle halfway rather than to the top, or just keep one bottle separate for cold use and the other for hot.

Heat-Treats says: “It’s simple; just fill your bottle with iced water, ice cubes or crushed ice. The bottle acts in the same way in reverse; instead of releasing warm heat it emits refreshing cold. Contrary to hot water which will gradually cool down, the icy water will eventually warm up until it reaches room temperature.

“Some people suggest that you can fill your bottle with cold water and then place it in the freezer to chill further, although it shouldn’t be left for more than 20 minutes otherwise the rubber can become compromised and may rupture. The best plan is to have different bottles for heat filling and cold filling.

“You can also use your cold hot water bottle for cooling down your sheets or pillow before you go to bed. If your bottle doesn’t have a cover, wrap it in a tea towel or pillowcase to prevent overexposure to the cold next to your skin.”

This tip is backed by the Royal Meteorological Society, which also suggests putting your pillowcase and even your pyjamas in the freezer before bed to help you get to sleep more easily when the weather is warm.

In its guidance it says: “Stick your pillowcase, pyjamas or even a hot water bottle filled with cold water in the freezer 20 minutes before bed.

“This simple trick offers an instant cooling hit that can help you get to sleep faster – especially during those muggy tropical nights where temperatures don’t drop below 20C.”

Listed are the 50 UK areas covered by the Met Office red warning for extreme heat from 9am on Wednesday until 9pm on Thursday:

London & South East England