The London Ambulance Service (LAS) has issued a stark warning to the public to drink responsibly and refrain from exercising outdoors as a punishing heatwave continues to break June temperature records across the United Kingdom. Craig Harman, chief operating officer of LAS, urged people to consume plenty of water between alcoholic beverages and to avoid physical exertion during the hottest parts of the day.
Record-Breaking Temperatures and Extended Warnings
The Met Office confirmed that temperatures reached 36.7°C in Merryfield, Somerset, on Thursday afternoon, provisionally marking the hottest June day on record for the UK. This follows a second consecutive day of exceptionally hot and humid weather, with rare red weather warnings extending into Friday. Forecasts predict temperatures could reach 36°C in London and 35°C in Manchester, while Belfast and Cardiff may see highs of 26°C.
The red warning, covering London and parts of east and southeast England including Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, and Kent, has been extended until 9pm on Friday—the first time such warnings have been issued for three consecutive days. An amber heat warning remains in place for a wider area until midnight Friday, affecting the East Midlands, East of England, northwest England, southwest England, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humber.
Health Service Under Severe Strain
Several hospitals have declared critical incidents amid the heatwave. University Hospital Southampton cancelled planned operations and outpatient appointments, while Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust declared critical incidents on Wednesday. LAS responded to its highest number of life-threatening emergencies ever on Wednesday, with a 50% increase in such calls compared to a typical Wednesday in June and a 30% rise in cardiac arrests.
Jason Killens, LAS chief executive, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the extreme heat can affect anyone, not just those with pre-existing conditions. “To coin a phrase, we’ve thrown the kitchen sink at this week. All non-essential training, non-essential meetings, have been cancelled. Clinical colleagues who aren’t routinely deployed on the front line have been deployed back on the front line,” he said.
Dr Hilary Williams, clinical vice president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), highlighted the poor infrastructure of the health service. “When you go round hospitals, very, very few hospitals are new. We’ve kind of bolted things in car parks, we’ve added an extra wing on here, we’ve changed a corridor into a ward, and those places just aren’t coping with the demands of extreme heat. So the patients are far too hot. We’re hearing reports of elderly care wards way over 30°C,” she said. She also noted that critical machinery, including MRI scanners and linear accelerators used for cancer treatment, have malfunctioned due to the heat.
Disruptions and Fatalities
The heatwave has forced schools and nurseries to close, and a hosepipe ban has been implemented in Kent due to surging water demand. Transport services have been disrupted, with one rail operator advising against beach trips because of the extreme heat. A 50-year-old man from Cilfrew, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, died after entering the water at Aberavon beach on Wednesday, police reported. On Thursday evening, firefighters in Derbyshire continued battling a 500-square-metre wildfire on Tintwistle Moor, with video showing billowing smoke and flames consuming trees.
Climate Context and Future Measures
The current heatwave is driven by a “heat-dome”—an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat—settling over western Europe. Human-driven climate change, primarily from burning fossil fuels, is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense. London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has called for air conditioning to be rolled out to schools, offices, and hospitals as the capital adapts to more intense and frequent heatwaves, launching the city’s first heat plan to keep Londoners safe.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) issued an electricity margin notice for Friday evening, calling on companies to make additional capacity available due to the temperatures. A NESO spokesperson said: “Our forecasts are showing tight margins on the electricity system for tomorrow evening (Friday). An Electricity Margin Notice (EMN) has been issued to the market. This is a routine tool, and means we are asking market participants to make any additional generation capacity they may have available. The EMN does not mean electricity supply is at risk.”
Wales recorded its hottest June day on Thursday with 35.9°C in Cardiff, while Northern Ireland matched its previous June record with 30.8°C in Castlederg. Yellow thunderstorm warnings are in place for southwest England on Thursday night and for swathes of Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland on Friday. Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said lightning is likely in the South West on Thursday night, with rain in northern areas on Friday morning. Eastern England is expected to see the highest temperatures on Friday, but conditions are forecast to “finally cool down this weekend.”
