Overview
- The Met Office said Thursday that Kew Gardens in west London hit 38.1°C, the hottest day in the UK so far in 2026 during the country’s fifth heatwave.
- More than 70% of the UK is now in drought after a very dry July and an unusually dry August, and Southern Water has applied for a rare drought order that would ban nonessential business water use while Environment Secretary Angela Eagle decides the request.
- Fire services report heavy demand: England and Wales have recorded 1,017 wildfires this year and major blazes in southern Europe have forced sea evacuations and large firefighting operations.
- Hospitals and emergency staff are under pressure from heat-related illness and poor cooling in many buildings, with the Royal College of Nursing reporting nurses collapsing from heat exhaustion during shifts.
- Government action is shifting to immediate risk reduction and adaptation as Prime Minister Andy Burnham considers a ban on disposable barbecues and forecasters warn that further hot spells are possible in late August, a pattern experts link to human-driven climate change.