UK braces for another heatwave as Europe sizzles with record temperatures

Britain provisionally logged 37.3C at Santon Downham in Suffolk on 26 June, and the Met Office warned another surge of heat could build again across the UK within days. Red extreme heat warnings were already in force for Wednesday and Thursday in June, part of an exceptional spell that brought the first three consecutive days of red warnings under the current warning system.

The hotter air was sweeping across a continent already strained by record temperatures. A significant heatwave was developing across large parts of Europe, with Spain, France and Italy expected to climb into the high 30s and some places likely to exceed 40C. The UK sat on the boundary of that plume, leaving London, the Home Counties, the South East and parts of southern and central England most exposed if the heat shifted back over the country.

Forecasts for the UK had pointed to peaks around 35C, with some scenarios reaching 38C. That put the country within range of its current June record of 35.6C, set in Southampton in June 1976, and there remained a chance that figure would be challenged. By late June, the country had already recorded a third consecutive day of a new June temperature record.

Significant disruption to daily life was likely, including pressure on public health, infrastructure, power supplies and water supplies. Tropical nights, when temperatures do not fall below 20C, were possible in some places, a pattern that would limit overnight recovery for hospitals, schools, transport networks and workplaces if another heatwave arrived before the country had time to cool down.

The spell was expected to ease from the middle of the following week, although the south and east of England were likely to stay warm the longest.