Hundreds of schools plan closures ahead of red heat alerts
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- UK Met Office issued a rare red extreme heat warning for parts of England and Wales from 09:00 BST Wednesday to 21:00 Thursday, forecasting up to 39°C in southern England and warning of danger to life
- More than 300 schools across England and Wales are planning partial or full closures this week, with some allowing pupils to wear PE kit instead of full uniforms on Wednesday and Thursday
- GTR, the UK's largest train operator, will suspend the Gatwick Express from early afternoon Wednesday and Thursday and implement safety speed restrictions across Thameslink, Great Northern, and Southern lines
- UKHSA chief scientific officer Prof Robin May said this was only the second red heat health alert the agency has issued (the last was July 2022), warning the heat poses a threat to 'otherwise healthy people in their prime of life'
- Tuesday's storms brought roughly 29,000 lightning strikes to southern England, causing flash flooding and prompting the London Fire Brigade to respond to 400 calls plus two house fires believed started by lightning
- The RAC reported it was already handling 10% more breakdowns than usual for this time of year and expects calls to climb further as temperatures peak, while the UK's June record of 35.6°C set in 1976 is likely to fall
Why it matters: This is only the second red heat health alert the UKHSA has ever issued, and it explicitly extends the danger beyond the elderly and young to healthy working-age adults — a rare expansion of who is considered at risk. With 300+ schools closing, the UK's largest train operator suspending express services, and Met Office forecasts near 39°C, the simultaneous disruption to transport, education, and emergency services is forcing institutions to treat a heatwave as a public safety emergency.
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