UK heatwave triggers rare red warning as schools close across England

Temperatures reached 34.6C in Wisley, Surrey, as England’s heat emergency forced more than 450 schools to close or alter lessons and the Met Office issued a rare red extreme heat warning for Wednesday and Thursday. The alert covered six regions of England and parts of Wales. It was the first since July 2022 and meant there was very likely to be a risk to life.

Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded their hottest days of the year so far, while temperatures across England were forecast to climb to around 39C and could hit 40C in the worst-affected areas. The UK Health Security Agency warned the heatwave could prove fatal, including for healthy people.

Primaries, secondaries and nurseries across England shut early on Monday, uniforms were relaxed in some settings, sports days were cancelled and mock exams were postponed. Maiden Erlegh Trust, which runs 10 schools across Berkshire and Oxfordshire, will close nine of its sites on Wednesday and Thursday. The Buckingham School, which has about 1,200 students, also closed and moved to online learning.

There is no legal maximum classroom temperature in England, even as teaching unions, the Climate Change Committee and the Trades Union Congress campaign for an agreed limit. The Department for Education is considering proposals for maximum temperature limits.

Several rail operators urged passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary, with Southern and East Coast routes facing delays, cancellations and speed restrictions because rails expand in direct sunlight. Temperatures across England were forecast to climb to around 39C and could hit 40C in the worst-affected areas, topping the 35.6C set in Southampton in June 1976 and matched at Camden Square in June 1957.