The Met Office has extended its amber warning for extreme heat in eastern England until 9am on Sunday, but forecasters say the record-breaking hot spell is finally coming to a close. The warning covers the East and South East of England, where temperatures reached a provisional peak of 37.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on Friday.
Thunderstorms and Flight Disruptions
Heat and humidity on Saturday triggered thunderstorms, prompting a yellow thunderstorm warning active until 11pm. The Met Office warned of frequent lightning, large hail, gusty winds, and brief heavy downpours in central and eastern parts of England. Thunderstorms have already caused disruptions, with 484 inbound and outbound flights delayed across Gatwick and Heathrow airports, according to the FlightAware tracker. Heathrow saw 42% of its flights delayed, while Gatwick had 50%.
In Kent, fire crews responded to three house fires caused by lightning strikes early Saturday. The Met Office warned of possible short-term power loss and damage to vulnerable structures.
Temperature Drop Ahead
High temperatures persist in East Anglia, with some areas facing a tropical night where temperatures will not drop below 20C. However, Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslik said temperatures are expected to fall by around 5C to 6C on Sunday, producing highs of 25C to 26C on the eastern coast and mid-to-low 20Cs elsewhere. Humidity levels will also drop, giving "a much fresher feel than what we saw for the latter part of last week," Eslik said.
Record-Breaking Heatwave
The heatwave smashed the long-standing June heat record from 1976 by more than 1C, a significant margin given that such records are usually broken by only a fraction of a degree. Scientists warned that this heatwave would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago, with human-driven climate change fuelling more intense and frequent extreme heat events.
Tragically, six people drowned during the heatwave, and there were 15 water-related fatalities in May. Health chiefs reported a surge in life-threatening emergency calls, and hundreds of schools and nurseries closed. A hosepipe ban was introduced in Kent due to surging demand, and several hospitals declared critical incidents, including University Hospital Southampton, which cancelled planned operations and outpatient appointments.
Heat Dome and Climate Change
The heatwave was driven by a "heat dome" – an area of high pressure that stalled over western Europe, trapping heat. This phenomenon is exacerbated by human-driven climate change, primarily from burning fossil fuels, which makes extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense.
