Yellow heat health alerts have come into force as the fifth heatwave of the year hits the UK, with parts of the country set to see scorching highs of 36C next week.
The alerts became active at 9am on Saturday and will run until 9pm on Tuesday. They warn that the hot weather is likely to affect the wellbeing of the population and put additional pressure on healthcare services.
Temperature forecasts
The Met Office said temperatures will climb through the weekend as heatwave conditions return, with a high of 36C expected in parts of East Anglia and south-east England by Thursday.
Temperatures could reach 30C on Saturday, before climbing into the low 30s in southern and south-east England on Sunday. Highs of up to 30C are possible across parts of England and Wales on Tuesday, increasing to 32C to 34C on Wednesday, with the highest temperatures currently expected on Thursday.
Record-breaking summer
The extreme weather of summer 2026 has included two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths. Two further heatwaves in July, the driest July in England and Wales since records began, have fuelled drought and wildfires.
The highest temperature of the year was 38C recorded at Lingwood in Norfolk on June 28. There have been 33 days so far this year when temperatures have exceeded 30C somewhere in the UK. The record of 34 days – set in 1995 – is likely to be broken next week.
Regional and wildfire impact
Forecasters said the weekend will see a north-south split in the weather, with Scotland and Northern Ireland likely to see spells of heavy rain, while England and Wales will remain largely dry, sunny and increasingly warm.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued yellow heat health alerts for the East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, South West, East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, and London.
Fires are likely to become exceptionally severe on Sunday for almost all of the east and south-east of England, according to the Fire Severity Index. “Exceptional” severity is its highest ranking. The Met Office data includes rainfall, temperature and humidity, and agencies use the index to assess the severity of a fire if it starts. It does not cover the chances of wildfires occurring.
Drought and water levels
Reservoir storage in England has dropped to 69%, down from 72% a week ago and nearly 12 percentage points below the long-term average for the time of year, the Environment Agency said on Friday. Storage stood at 85% at the end of June, which was the average for that point in the year, but has fallen steadily in recent weeks.
Five reservoirs are now classed as having “exceptionally low” levels: Blagdon in Somerset (54% full); Clywedog in Powys, which provides water for central and north-west England (62%); the Dove group of reservoirs in Derbyshire (74%); Hanningfield in Essex (60%); and Wimbleball in Somerset (50%).
Last month was the driest July for England and Wales since records began in 1836, according to provisional figures released by the Met Office. Nineteen counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall – 1mm or less – across the whole of the month, Met Office figures show.
