Red heat warning extended as UK braced for more record-breaking temperatures

Emily Beament, Press Association Environment Correspondent

A rare red warning for extreme heat has been extended into Friday, as parts of the UK brace for more record-breaking temperatures.

The Met Office has extended its red warning, currently in place for a swathe of England and Wales, until 9pm on Friday for London and parts of east and south-east England, stretching across Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Kent, because of the exceptional heat and humidity.

Temperatures could exceed 36C in these areas, perhaps rising to 38C in some places, the Met Office said.

It is the first time in the current weather warnings system the Met Office has issued a red warning for heat over three consecutive days.

It launched weather warnings for extreme heat in 2021 after a record-breaking number of heatwave deaths were recorded in England the previous summer, with the first – and until this week only – red warning for extreme heat issued in July 2022 as temperatures soared to all-time highs above 40C.

Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said the exceptional spell of hot and humid weather “will maintain its grip on the UK for a little longer”.

He added: “Although the current red warning for areas in more central and western parts of England and Wales will expire later today, the heatwave will still be bringing high temperatures to these areas, albeit moving away from the peak heat of Wednesday and Thursday.”

On Wednesday, the June temperature record – held since the infamous summer of 1976 – was smashed as provisional figures suggest it reached 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire.

Temperatures are remaining exceptionally warm at night, making it hard for people to sleep and recover from the day’s heat.

The Met Office said on Thursday that the UK record for the highest June minimum temperature has provisionally been broken, with temperatures only falling to 23.5C overnight at Bute Park, Cardiff.

In England, temperatures in Plymouth only dropped to 23.0C, provisionally setting a new English record for the highest June minimum temperature.

The sweltering heatwave has led to “awful conditions” in hospitals, schools and nurseries are closed or operating early pick-up times or relaxing uniform rules, while train services have been disrupted.

South Western Railway passengers are being urged to avoid non-essential travel to seaside resorts on Friday because of extreme heat.

The operator previously urged passengers to restrict travel on Wednesday and Thursday to essential journeys, but it has now extended this to include Friday as high temperatures are set to remain.

South East Water has announced a temporary hosepipe ban for people living in Kent in the face of “high temperatures and record demand for water”.

The heatwave is set to continue to the end of the week, with amber warnings for parts of England on Friday and Saturday.

It is being driven by a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe that has brought extreme conditions across the continent, with human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, making heatwaves more frequent and intense.

The Met Office said it is possible the June record could be beaten again.If temperatures reach 39C, that would make it the second hottest day in the UK on record.

If 38C is recorded, that is still in the top five days ever recorded and hotter than any day of the 20th century.

Red heat health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the East of England, East Midlands, London, the South East, the South West and the West Midlands, and amber heat health alerts for the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber.

These alerts are in place until 11pm on Friday, and mean “adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population”.

The latest heatwave has prompted renewed calls for the UK to be better prepared for the rising risk of extreme heat that a changing climate is bringing, including cooling for hospitals, schools and care homes, heat regulations for workplaces, and to prepare infrastructure against rising temperatures.

The Royal College of Physicians said doctors have described severe, unsustainable pressure on the workforce, with very few settings having air conditioning, staff “really struggling” and resident doctors battling the heat while sleep deprived.

One physician has warned “conditions are awful” due to overcrowding, another said two machines used to treat cancer had stopped amid the heatwave, and there had been reports of patients on geriatric wards – one of the groups most vulnerable to heat – facing temperatures of up to 35C.

Almost one in five employers have no measures to help workers cope with the heat, according to the Chartered Management Institute, with an uneven response to the heatwave.

Its survey of 1,000 managers found a third said their company had relaxed dress codes, while a quarter said flexible working hours were being offered, and a minority reported other measures such as free refreshments, additional breaks and reduced workloads.

In Scotland, forecasters predict temperatures may rise into the low 30Cs in some areas, potentially breaking the record June temperature of 32.3C recorded at Ochtertyre in Perthshire on June 18 1893, before cooling down over the weekend.

Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said there is a chance it might be broken as “we are expecting temperatures to get into the high 20s and possibly the low 30s so it does threaten the Scottish June record, there is the potential to break it”.

Record temperatures in Ireland will be “challenged” on Thursday, according to Met Éireann meteorologist Gerry Murphy.

The highest temperature recorded in the Republic of Ireland was 33.3C at Kilkenny Castle on June 26 1887, while temperatures on Thursday are forecast to be in the high 20s everywhere and potentially into the 30s in the Midlands and Connacht.

The country’s status yellow high temperature warning, which has been in place since Tuesday at midday, has been extended until Saturday at 9am.