Overview
- The Met Office has extended red extreme‑heat warnings into Friday and said local peaks could reach about 38°C, marking the first time red alerts have run for three consecutive days under the current system.
- Provisional records for June have been set during the week with 36.1°C reported in Gosport and 36.7°C in Merryfield while unusually warm nights, including a 23.5°C minimum at Bute Park in Cardiff, have reduced overnight cooling.
- The heat has forced more than 1,000 schools and nurseries to close or send pupils home, led several NHS trusts to declare critical incidents, driven London Ambulance Service to its highest life‑threatening call rate and prompted rail operators to restrict services.
- Ministers, city leaders and parliamentary committees are demanding faster adaptation and investment to cool hospitals, schools and transport infrastructure after engineers and public‑health experts warned current buildings and services are poorly prepared.
- The event is part of a wider western European heatwave caused by an Omega‑shaped 'heat‑dome' that has led to deadly impacts overseas and underlines scientists' warnings that human‑driven climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of such extremes.