UK weather: Hottest day of heatwave revealed - with 10% chance temperatures will hit 35C
Parts of the country are facing a fourth heatwave of the summer, where highs pass a threshold on three consecutive days.
Check the weather forecast where you are
2:17
Sky News meteorologist Christopher England said the high pressure that brought the warmth of the last few days via the "heat dome" effect is moving east, as low pressure moves in towards the west.
This will bring even warmer air up from the near continent, making it hotter for most over the next few days.
"Southern Britain can expect temperatures widely into the low 30s then, perhaps exceeding 35C (95F) in places," Mr England said.
"There's around a 10% chance Wales may exceed its august peak temperature of 35.2C recorded at Hawarden on 2 August 1990."
He also predicts "some very muggy nights" in the South, with temperatures quite widely holding above 20C (68F) in towns and cities, known as "tropical nights".
A yellow health alert is in place from 12pm on Monday through to Wednesday evening for most of England - covering all regions except for the North West and North East.
The warning issued by the UK Health Security Agency means it expects heat-related issues such as an increase in deaths of over-65s, a higher demand on health services and an increased risk of overheating for vulnerable people.
2:11
The Met Office's criteria for a heatwave are met when temperatures are above a certain level for three consecutive days. This threshold varies from 25C to 28C (77F to 82F) depending on location.
Meteorologist Tom Morgan said there would be a "North-South split in the weather" today.
He said it would be "quite cloudy across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England, the rain tending to come and go, but most persistent in western Scotland".
The remnants of ex-tropical storm Dexter has headed towards the UK from the Atlantic.
This could bring the potential of rain and thunderstorms tonight and into tomorrow.
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Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Why your nostalgia for the summer of 1976 is wrong
The further away the long, steamy summer of 1976 gets, the greater its mythical status becomes, it seems. Every time the thermometer pushes 30 degrees, hoary phrases like 'but it isn't as hot as it was back then' or 'we survived 1976, it can't get worse' are wheeled out with remarkable regularity. But a closer look at historical weather data reveals a more complicated picture. In many ways, the summer of 1976 was Britain's first real taste of a new normal. While it was undeniably hot and dry by the standards of the time, recent years have delivered summers that match – or even surpass – its extremes. While the average highest recorded temperature in the UK between June and August was 21°C, with a searing peak of 35.9°C recorded in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on July 3, what truly embedded 1976 in the public memory was the extraordinary length of its heatwave. In the UK, a heatwave is defined as a period of at least three consecutive days where daily maximum temperatures meet or exceed a threshold of around 28 degrees (though the Met Office applies slightly different thresholds to different regions in the country). Most UK heatwaves last for only three or four days, but in 1976, multiple locations in England recorded a 16 consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, from 23 June to 8 July. To this day, that heatwave remains unmatched in terms of its duration. But the 35.9 degrees recorded in Cheltenham has been surpassed on multiple occasions, most recently in 2022 when the mercury reached a staggering 40.3 degrees in Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 19 July. Even this year, it reached 35.8 degrees in Faversham, Kent on July 1. The difference between 35°C and 40°C may seem to some as just varying degrees of heat but, meteorologically speaking, it is critical. 'When you are talking about really high temperatures, even the difference of a degree is significant – especially in terms of mortality rates,' Dr Laura Baker, senior NCAS scientist in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, explains. 'Shorter, more intense, very very hot periods have more of an impact than a 16-day hot-but-not-excessively-hot, period,' she added. The 1976 heatwave was estimated to have led to 700 extra deaths in the UK. In the record-breaking summer of 2022 there were an estimated 2,985 excess deaths associated with heat. One major factor worsening modern heatwaves and increasing the number of heat-related deaths is the growing prevalence of so-called 'tropical nights', which is where the minimum daily temperature (often recorded at night) is above 20 degrees. 'In 1976, even with that long period, there were no tropical nights,' Dr Baker explained. 'In terms of how you experience a heatwave, that makes a difference. If it doesn't cool down at night, you can't cool your house down.' This is especially dangerous for elderly or vulnerable individuals who rely on cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from the day's heat. And according to Dr Baker, we'll see more of these 'hot sticky nights' in the near future as heatwaves across the UK – and across the entire Northern Hemisphere for that matter – are becoming more intense, hot, and occurring more frequently. According to the State of the UK Climate in 2024 report, the UK's climate has steadily warmed from the 1980s onwards, with great consequences for our average daily temperature. 'If we look at the UK's average summer temperature, we can see that 1976 was the UK's warmest year on record until 2003,' its lead author Mike Kendon, climate information scientist in the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, says. 'But since then there have been four years close to or above the 1976 value.' The summer of 1976 has one more climate record that still holds weight: the severe drought. According to climate scientists, a drought like that is unlikely to occur in that extremity again (but never say never). The reason it happened in 1976 was because of some very specific preceding conditions. Rainfall was scarce throughout 1975 and the early part of 1976. The intense and prolonged summer heat of 1976 exacerbated these dry conditions, leaving reservoirs depleted before many people even started celebrating their summer holidays, culminating in widespread water shortages across the country. Consecutive years have also brought droughts and low rainfall. Many will remember how hosepipe bans affected much of the south during prolonged dry spells in 2012. This year too – one of the driest on record – saw bans reinstated across both north and south England in July. But while 2025 has been notably dry, it's a relatively isolated year. 2024 ranked amongst the wettest on record, leaving reservoirs and water supplies in a slightly stronger position to withstand this year's dry spring and summer. What also sets 1976 apart, and helps explain its lasting hold on public memory, is not just the severity of the drought, but how unprepared the country was for it. There were no heat action plans, no warning systems. People had to find their own ways to cope. 'The UK would have been less equipped for extreme heat and drought back in 1976 compared to now, and this may be a reason why people still cite the 1976 heatwave as one of the most impactful or memorable to them,' Dr Eunice Lo, senior research fellow in Climate Change and Health at the University of Bristol, said. Government advice at the time was extremely basic and mostly focused on water rationing. People were told to 'bathe with a friend' and to only flush the toilet for solid waste. One casualty doctor suggested the best thing you could have in the heat was a pint and a packet of salty crisps – something the UK Health Security Agency heavily advises against now. A Minister for Drought was appointed. But only at the very end of the drought, days before the rain returned. 'We know that more recent heatwaves were actually hotter than the 1976 event, but in general we have gotten better at coping with heat since then,' Dr Lo explained. Nowadays, the Met Office can issue 'Extreme Heat' warnings, which did not exist in 1976. In fact, the direct public health messaging recommending people to stay indoors and drink lots of fluids that we see now only became standard after the 2003 heatwave. 'The key here is, of course, that we all listen to the warnings and take actions to protect ourselves and others,' Dr Lo points out. This presents another stark difference between the summer of 1976 and recent heatwaves. At the peak of the drought in 1976, water was switched off in some areas. Domestic water supply was limited, which meant people had to diligently collect their water at standpipes. 'You really couldn't imagine that kind of thing now,' Dr Baker says. 'People just couldn't cope. There is less community and everyone is just so desperate for everything to be available. You can't imagine people just going down the street and standing in a queue with a bucket.' It's highly unlikely that a situation like this will unfold again any time soon but, as a result of climate change, the weather has undoubtedly changed and will continue to do so. In the current climate of the UK, the 1976 summer no longer stands out as extreme. 'It was really really exceptional [at the time] but now it just wouldn't be,' Dr Baker says. 'It would just be another summer, quite hot, but not exceptional.' Yet 1976 remains a cultural reference point, a sort of gold standard of heat and hardship. Possibly because it marked the moment when the UK first began to realise just how much hot weather could disrupt everyday life. 'Water boards still consider 1976 as their benchmark drought, the thing they need to be prepared for,' Dr Baker explains. 'The question is, should they not be planning for something more extreme? Because it could happen.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Britain to be hotter than Hawaii as runners brave 30C heat and families soak up summer holiday sunshine
Britain is set to be hotter than Hawaii with temperatures soaring to 30C today as a sweltering heatwave continues to grip the country. Runners have been braving the scorching heat while families are packing out parks and local tourist attractions as they soak up the sunshine during the summer holidays. It comes as Britain is on track for its sunniest year yet - despite failing to break the 40.3C record set in Coningsby, Lincolnshire in July 2022. Parts of England will swelter through temperatures of up to 30C later, making it hotter than Hawaii where there are highs of 29C. Almost 1,200 hours of sunshine was recorded by the Met Office in July - more sun than in any of the past 20 years. There have also been 79 days where temperatures have exceeded 20C - the most recorded for this time of the year. In London today, highs of 30C are predicted, while Cardiff will only be slightly cooler at 29C. Further north, Belfast and Edinburgh are expected to be a little milder, with temperatures reaching 22C and 24C respectively. Similar temperatures are expected in Manchester, which will hit a top of 24C, and Newcastle which will reach 22C. The Met Office forecast patchy cloud across the north with scattered showers in parts of eastern Scotland. Despite this, temperatures will remain warm, particularly across England and Wales. As the heat concentrates across southern and southwestern England, temperatures will climb to 30C in Salisbury and 29C in Cambridge, while central areas like Nottingham are also expected to see highs of 28C. It comes as firefighters travelled across the UK to help tackle the major wildfire at Holt Heath, Dorset, fuelling calls for increased firefighting resources. Ben Selby, Fire Brigades Union assistant general secretary said services had undergone '14 years of austerity'. 'The loss of 1 in 5 firefighter posts to cuts, with fire engines taken off the run and fire stations closed up and down the country, means that there is no resilience left,' he said. 'Wildfires are intensive incidents, requiring a large number of firefighters and specialist resources. They are becoming increasingly severe and frequent as a result of the climate emergency.' Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue estimated the blaze had burned through 72ha and would remain on the scene overnight. People swim at London Fields Lido outdoor swimming pool during a warm day in London 'Crews are still working in three sectors dealing with an increase in flare-ups, hotspots and deep-seated fires identified using drones,' the statement read. 'This is due to the weather conditions.' Crews travelled from Merseyside, South Wales, Greater Manchester, Leicestershire, Surrey, Lincolnshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Avon, Essex and Kent among others, to assist local emergency services. Heat health alerts were extended into next week for much of England. Officials have said the country is suffering from 'nationally significant' water shortfalls. The national drought group, which includes the Met Office, regulators, government, water companies and other organisations, has met as five areas of the country remain in drought, with six more in prolonged dry weather status. The UK Health Security Agency said yellow warnings will remain in place for Yorkshire and Humber, the East and West Midlands, London and the South East, South West and east of England until 6pm on August 18. The weekend should be dry and sunny for most parts of the UK, with the mercury forecast to hover around 30C on Saturday and 29C on Sunday in south-west England.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Heatwave causes surge in vehicle breakdowns because of hot tyres
Hot tyres failing have sparked a surge in vehicle breakdowns as high temperatures continue. The RAC said it received 10% more callouts between Monday and Thursday compared with the same period last week. Parts of the UK have seen temperatures above 30C in recent days. On Friday, highs of 30C are predicted in London, while Cardiff will only be slightly cooler at 29C. The weekend is expected to be dry and sunny for most parts of the UK at around 30C on Saturday and 29C on Sunday in south-west England. RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said: 'With the extreme heat expected to continue into the weekend, we're warning drivers to take every precaution possible to avoid getting stranded at the side of the road. 'We've already seen a 10% increase in breakdowns this week with faulty tyres being the main cause. 'When temperatures rise, the heat of the air inside tyres does the same, so it's especially important to check the pressure and condition before a long journey. 'This is especially crucial if your car is parked on the street – rather than in a garage – where it's directly exposed to the sun. 'Anyone heading to a beach or a coastal location should also prepare for the conditions by checking their vehicle's coolant level in advance.' Heat health alerts have been extended into next week for much of England. The UK Health Security Agency said yellow warnings will remain in place for Yorkshire and the Humber, the East and West Midlands, London and the South East, the South West and the east of England until 6pm on August 18. Officials have said the country is suffering from 'nationally significant' water shortfalls. The National Drought Group, which includes the Met Office, regulators, government, water companies and other organisations, has met as five areas of the country remain in drought, with six more in prolonged dry weather status.
