The RED Heat Health Alert means the extreme temperatures and humidity will have a severe impact on some people’s health and public services, including some services run by the council.

Changes to bin collections

To help keep our rubbish and recycling collections running smoothly during this hot spell, please put your bins out by 5am if they are due to be collected on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. 

It’s important that we keep our staff safe during the extreme heat and humidity, which could cause serious illness or danger to life. The intense temperatures could also impact the safe running of our collection vehicles.  

We’ll continue to monitor the weather and will keep you updated. Thank you for your support. 

School closures

Some schools in Barking and Dagenham have decided to implement full or partial closures over the next few days in line with their individual risk assessments. This decision is made by each individual school, not the council. If your child attends a school in the borough, their school should be updating you on their plans directly. 

Supporting vulnerable residents in the heat

With temperatures rising, a small number of community spaces will be available across the borough, on Wednesday (24 June) and Thursday (25 June), for vulnerable residents who may be finding the heat difficult to manage.

If you’re particularly affected by the hot weather and need somewhere cooler to spend some time, the following spaces will be open:

• Barking Learning Centre
• Dagenham Library
• Chadwell Heath Community Hub
• Marks Gate Community Hub
• Valence Community Hub
• Thames Community Hub

We’ll also have a helpdesk for essential enquiries, especially those relating to heat.

See opening hours on the Our Hubs BD website

General advice on staying safe 

Red Heatwave Alert – Let’s look out for each other

You can help look after yourself and others by following this advice:

• stay hydrated and keep cool
• avoid going out during the hottest part of the day
• check on vulnerable people regularly
• never leave children or pets in cars
• don’t swim in any of our lakes or rivers – there have been a lot of tragic cases of children and adults drowning in open water across the UK recently
• if you’re taking your children or grandchildren to a park or playground, check the play equipment isn’t hot before being used. Metal slides and other equipment can get really hot in this weather

High temperatures and dry conditions can also increase the risk of fires, especially wildfires. You can help by:

• not leaving glass on the ground in any of our parks or open spaces
• taking your rubbish home or using the bins provided
• disposing of cigarette butts safely 

More advice can be found on the GOV.UK website and on the London Fire Brigade website.