Coronavirus means even more people might die during a heatwave this summer

The government is aware that more than 90 per cent of deaths during heatwaves in England have occurred outside of the temperature thresholds in which alerts are sent out, writes Bob Ward

More than 3,000 'excess deaths' in England have been linked to heatwave conditions over the past four summers (PA)

Britain is reeling from the mounting death toll from Covid-19 but hot weather this summer could make things even worse. So why has the government ignored a shocking new report that shows its alert system for heatwaves does not protect people who are most vulnerable?

An official review of the Heatwave Plan for England, which was published last month by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reveals that the “Heat-Health Watch” system sends out alerts based on temperature thresholds that are too high.

The Department of Health and Social Care has known about the report since it was finalised in November, including the finding that more than 90 per cent of deaths during heatwaves in England have been occurring outside the periods of alerts.