The Met Office has issued amber heat health alerts for London and most of England as the summer's fifth heatwave is set to push temperatures into the mid-30Cs, with the peak expected on Thursday.
Amber alerts are in place for the East Midlands, East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, London, North West, South East, South West, and West Midlands, while a yellow alert covers the North East. The alerts run from Tuesday August 11 at 9am to Friday August 14 at 9pm.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said that after a cooler Monday, "the heat really comes back in for a time, and will peak on Thursday. We're expecting values to be in the mid 30Cs, and possibly highest in the East."
Drought conditions expand across England
The heatwave comes as the National Drought Group, comprising government and agency officials, water companies, and farming leaders, meets again on Monday. Half of England and all of Wales are already in drought, with 23 million customers facing hosepipe restrictions as rivers and reservoirs reach critically low levels.
Farmers are warning of a "brutal harvest" for crops and insufficient feed for livestock. Significant wildfires have hit locations including the Pennines, Scotland's Cairngorms, Llanwonno in the Rhondda Valleys, and Dunwich Heath in Suffolk.
Provisional data shows England and Wales experienced their driest July since records began in 1836, with 19 English counties recording no rainfall at all during the month. Southern England had its warmest July on record, while Wales had its joint warmest.
Heat-related fatalities and health risks
An 18-year-old died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands, East Sussex, on Sunday, bringing the total number of open-water fatalities this summer to over 40, according to Press Association estimates.
The Met Office did not expect to issue amber or red warnings for hazardous heat, as conditions would remain dry rather than humid, which elevates health risks, unlike in late June when a red alert was triggered.
The heat will diminish rapidly by the weekend, with low pressure potentially bringing rain to southern areas, but Mr Madge cautioned it would be insufficient to "make a dent" in the accumulated deficit. "It will be welcome for gardeners and for others, but we're not going to get a lot of rain and not enough to make up for the shortfall we've had over the summer," he said.
Climate change and record temperatures
This summer's exceptionally dry conditions have been compounded by successive heatwaves, including unprecedented temperatures in May and June which resulted in over 2,800 excess deaths. Britain is increasingly facing the consequences of more severe weather events such as drought, heatwaves, and wildfires, driven by climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.
The scorching temperatures will add to 2026's already unprecedented tally of days reaching 35C or above. While the heatwave will be brief, it will affect widespread areas, with high temperatures extending as far north as Scotland, which has recently seen substantial rainfall.
