UK bakes in 35C highs as millions under hosepipe bans
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- The UK recorded its eighth consecutive day above 34C on Thursday, breaking the previous record of seven days set in 1976 and 2020, with the heat peaking at 35.5C in Wisley, Surrey.
- Four water companies have imposed hosepipe bans affecting 5 million people in southern and eastern England — Anglian Water's first in a decade starts Saturday at 01:00 BST, Southern Water's covers one million Hampshire and Isle of Wight households, and Cambridge Water announced its first in 30 years.
- Spring 2026 rainfall was 14% below the long-term average, with southern England at just 50% of normal; Suffolk, Kent, Essex, Cambridgeshire, and the City of London saw only 33-36% of their seasonal average.
- UKHSA has issued amber heat health alerts across all but north-east England until 21:00 BST Sunday, flagging significant impacts for over-65s, the very young, and those with pre-existing conditions.
- June's heatwave shattered records with 37.7C in Lingwood, Norfolk (previous June record 35.6C) and 35.9C in Cardiff — Wales's hottest June day on record.
- Five sites in southern England recorded "tropical nights" overnight Thursday with temperatures above 20C, including Heathrow at 21.3C and Cippenham South Water Works at 21.2C.
Why it matters: The UK's eighth consecutive day above 34C breaks a record shared by 1976 and 2020, while southern England's 50% rainfall shortfall has triggered the first hosepipe bans in a generation — Anglian Water's first in a decade, Cambridge's in 30 years — putting simultaneous UKHSA amber-level health risk and first-in-decades water restrictions on 5 million people.
