Britain braces for fourth heatwave with 35C forecast
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- Met Office forecasters predict temperatures will reach 35C by Wednesday, with the heatwave triggered by a high-pressure system over the east and south-east of the country
- July has run 3C above average across the UK and delivered more days above 30C than ever before recorded
- Southern England received just 1% of its average July rainfall, with England at 5% and the UK at 20%, according to provisional Met Office data
- UK Health Security Agency issued amber heat health alerts for the east and south-east of England, running from Wednesday at 9am through Thursday, with yellow alerts for Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, and south-west
- National Fire Chiefs Council urged the public to avoid disposable barbecues and take care with cigarette butts in parks, the countryside, and other green spaces
- Nethy Bridge residents in Scotland were evacuated over the weekend after a large fire broke out in Cairngorms national park, while firefighters battled 19 significant wildfires simultaneously during the mid-July third heatwave
- Helen Vine of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives warned of a surge in patients suffering dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke
Why it matters: With July running 3C above average, southern England at just 1% of normal rainfall, and the UK logging more 30C days than ever recorded, Met Office senior meteorologist Marco Petagna acknowledged that heatwave thresholds may need to be nudged upward again to reflect a warming climate — meaning what qualifies as extreme today risks becoming the baseline, even as ambulance and fire services are already absorbing the current surge.
