Parts of England under heat alert with 30C temperatures possible
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- UKHSA issued yellow heat health alerts for the East Midlands, east of England, London, south-east, south-west, and West Midlands, in place until 9am Sunday, with temperatures forecast to reach the mid- to high 20s and a high of 30C possible
- Drought was officially declared in north Wales and the upper Severn region—the first part of the UK to reach that status—following record dry conditions, heatwaves, wildfires, and dwindling rivers
- England received just 3% of its average July rainfall, and hosepipe bans now affect 23 million customers, with suppliers warning restrictions may last all summer
- The Met Office's annual State of the UK Climate report found 2025 was the hottest year on record since records began in 1884, and that "punishing droughts amid hot and dry summers" are expected to worsen as average temperatures rise
- Met Office chief meteorologist Dan Suri said dry conditions would remain the "dominant feature" across southern England, with "very warm or locally hot weather" potentially returning next week
- Mike Kendon of the National Climate Information Centre said: "What we used to think of as extreme, we increasingly consider as normal. We are seeing unprecedented changes continuing"
- The AA said about 6.3 million motorists are planning road trips of more than 100 miles between Friday and next Thursday, while DFDS reported Dover border-control waits of up to 60 minutes amid new EU checks
Why it matters: Hosepipe bans already cover 23 million customers in a country that received just 3% of its July rainfall, and the UKHSA is now layering fresh health alerts over the same week—a convergence the Met Office's lead climate scientist frames as the new baseline rather than an anomaly. With 2025 recorded as the hottest year since 1884 and 2026 already matching 1976's count of 30C days, water utilities and the NHS are simultaneously planning around conditions that overlap rather than cycle.
