Overview
- The analysis by Imperial College London, the Met Office and LSHTM estimates about 550 heat-related excess deaths from May 21–29 and nearly 2,200 from June 18–28, for a total of roughly 2,700 across England and Wales.
- The team estimates about 42% of those deaths resulted from extra warming caused by human activity, with a higher attributable share in the May event than in June.
- The figures are modelled estimates that combine historical mortality patterns, observed temperatures and climate-attribution methods and are not final counts; the UK Health Security Agency says it will publish an official interim mortality analysis in the coming weeks.
- Hospitals and emergency services were pushed to breaking point during the June heatwave, with several trusts declaring critical incidents and the London Ambulance Service reporting record demand for life-threatening calls.
- Independent advisers and researchers warn the events expose large gaps in UK preparedness and call for urgent adaptation measures such as workplace temperature limits, cooling for hospitals and schools, and faster cuts to fossil fuel emissions to reduce future heat deaths.