The Met Office has extended its red warning for extreme heat until 9pm on Friday (June 26) for London and parts of South East England. The heatwave affecting a large part of England and Wales is set to continue during Friday, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 38C. The Met Office is currently forecasting it to be at least 35C in London from 2pm to 6pm on Friday.
Highest temperatures expected in East and South East England
A Met Office spokesperson said: "The focus of the highest temperatures on Friday is likely to shift towards East and South East England, where maximum temperatures in the shade could exceed 36 Celsius, perhaps rising to 38 Celsius in some places. However, following another very warm night, the greatest likelihood of high impacts are expected to be within this red warning area during Friday."
The heat will be accompanied by high humidity, exacerbating the potential for discomfort and health impacts, with very warm and humid night times also reducing the ability for people to recover overnight. Significant disruption to daily life is likely and the public should take every effort to make precautions and adapt their daily routines where possible to cope with these levels of heat, which up to now have been extremely rare for the UK.
Disruption to hospitals, schools, and transport
The sweltering heatwave has led to "awful conditions" in hospitals, schools and nurseries are closed or operating early pick-up times or relaxing uniform rules, while train services have been disrupted. South East Water has announced a temporary hosepipe ban for people living in Kent in the face of "high temperatures and record demand for water".
On Wednesday, the June temperature record – held since the infamous summer of 1976 – was smashed as provisional figures suggest it reached 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire. The Met Office said on Thursday that the UK record for the highest June minimum temperature has also provisionally been broken, with temperatures only falling to 23.5C overnight at Bute Park, Cardiff.
Heatwave driven by 'heat-dome' and climate change
The heatwave is set to continue to the end of the week, with red and amber warnings for extreme heat across a swathe of England and Wales on Thursday and amber warnings for parts of England on Friday and Saturday. It is being driven by a "heat-dome" settling over western Europe that has brought extreme conditions across the continent, with human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, making heatwaves more frequent and intense.
The Met Office said it is possible the June record could be beaten again. If temperatures reach 39C, that would make it the second hottest day in the UK on record. If 38C is recorded, that is still in the top five days ever recorded and hotter than any day of the 20th century.
Health alerts and calls for better preparation
Red heat health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the East of England, East Midlands, London, the South East, the South West and the West Midlands, and amber heat health alerts for the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber. These alerts are in place until 11pm on Friday, and mean "adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population".
The latest heatwave has prompted renewed calls for the UK to be better prepared for the rising risk of extreme heat that a changing climate is bringing, including cooling for hospitals, schools and care homes, heat regulations for workplaces, and to prepare infrastructure against rising temperatures.
Impact on healthcare and workplaces
The Royal College of Physicians said doctors have described severe, unsustainable pressure on the workforce, with very few settings having air conditioning, staff "really struggling" and resident doctors battling the heat while sleep deprived. One physician has warned "conditions are awful" due to overcrowding, another said two machines used to treat cancer had stopped amid the heatwave, and there had been reports of patients on geriatric wards – one of the groups most vulnerable to heat – facing temperatures of up to 35C.
Almost one in five employers have no measures to help workers cope with the heat, according to the Chartered Management Institute, with an uneven response to the heatwave. Its survey of 1,000 managers found a third said their company had relaxed dress codes, while a quarter said flexible working hours were being offered, and a minority reported other measures such as free refreshments, additional breaks and reduced workloads.
Scotland and Ireland also face record temperatures
In Scotland, forecasters predict temperatures may rise into the low 30Cs in some areas, potentially breaking the record June temperature of 32.3C recorded at Ochtertyre in Perthshire on June 18 1893, before cooling down over the weekend. Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said there is a chance it might be broken as "we are expecting temperatures to get into the high 20s and possibly the low 30s so it does threaten the Scottish June record, there is the potential to break it".
Record temperatures in Ireland will be "challenged" on Thursday, according to Met Éireann meteorologist Gerry Murphy. The highest temperature recorded in the Republic of Ireland was 33.3C at Kilkenny Castle on June 26 1887, while temperatures on Thursday are forecast to be in the high 20s everywhere and potentially into the 30s in the Midlands and Connacht. The country's status yellow high temperature warning, which has been in place since Tuesday at midday, has been extended until Saturday at 9am.
Areas covered by Met Office's extended red warning
East of England: Central Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Thurrock.
London & South East England: Greater London, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Medway, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Reading, Slough, Surrey, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham.
