The UK is yet again in the grip of extreme heat, with the second climate-supercharged heatwave in three weeks endangering lives and threatening to bring schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure to a standstill.
Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of heatwaves. June records tumbled in the previous round of heat less than two weeks ago, with Lingwood in Norfolk registering 37.7°C.
The Met Office warns that temperatures could creep as high as 35°C in some places, with London and the south-east particularly hard hit.
Health risks of a heatwave
While many media outlets have run images of sun-worshippers basking on beaches and families enjoying ice creams at the local park, the reality of the extreme temperatures is a dramatic rise in heat-related deaths and sickness.
In 2025, the UK’s hottest summer on record, the UK Health Security Agency recorded 1,504 heat-related deaths. In July 2022, when the UK reached 40°C for the first time since records began, 682 excess deaths were recorded in one day alone.
Meteorologists have modelled what would happen if the conditions that led to the fabled 1976 heatwave were to occur in today’s climate. They found that instead of 15 consecutive days of heat in excess of 32°C, the UK would face by 15 days of heat exceeding 35°C.
Despite the notoriety of summer 1976, the UK’s five warmest summers on record have all occurred since 2000, with three occurring since 2018.
Analysis by the Met Office suggests that the record heat the UK is experiencing this week will seem like a typical summer in just a few decades’ time. By 2056, English temperatures could peak at 45°C during a heatwave, with Wales hitting 41°C and 38°C possible in Scotland. The modelling suggests the UK could face two weeks of heat, with nine consecutive days of temperatures above 40°C.
VoteClimate director Ben Horton said:
The scary reality is that this heatwave – which is endangering the lives of thousands of vulnerable people – will seem tame compared to what we can expect by the middle of the century.
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Featured image via the Canary
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