The Met Office has warned that the UK could be gripped by a sixth heatwave of the year next month. The agency's latest long-range forecast, covering August 31 to September 14, said temperatures are "likely to be above average overall" for the period. High pressure could be centred close to the south of the UK, while more changeable conditions develop towards the north and northwest. The forecast added: "Meanwhile, drier, more settled weather is slightly more likely towards the south and east."
Summer on course to be hottest on record
Extreme weather this summer has led to five heatwaves across the country, with the last bringing the UK's hottest day of the year so far – a provisional 38.1C recorded at Kew Gardens on August 13. A heatwave is defined as an extended period of hot weather compared to expected conditions, met when an area records at least three consecutive days with maximum temperatures at or over the heatwave threshold.
The Met Office warned that summer 2026 is on course to be the hottest since records began. Provisional statistics show the mean temperature for the summer so far, from June 1, stands at 16.48C – 1.88C above the 1991 to 2020 average.
Wessex Water announces hosepipe ban
Wessex Water has announced a hosepipe ban, coming into effect from midnight on Tuesday for all 1.4 million customers across Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. The firm last enforced a temporary ban 50 years ago, in 1976. Ruth Jefferson, Wessex Water's chief executive, said: "While we're not running out of water for essential use, our challenge has been moving water through the network quickly enough to meet these record levels of demand."
Nine other water companies have implemented hosepipe bans, affecting around 27 million people in England. Ministers were reportedly told that bans could soon hit car washes and private swimming pools, according to The Times. A "reasonable worst-case scenario" reportedly penned by officials in Whitehall would include restrictions on businesses if low rainfall continues.
Possible further restrictions
Non-essential use bans (NEUBs), which are more serious than hosepipe bans, can be introduced by water companies if dry conditions continue. They impact commercial water use, potentially curbing the cleaning of industrial plants, refilling private pools, and car washes. So far only Southern Water has applied for a NEUB, citing an "exceptional" lack of rain threatening supplies in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.
A temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues has come into force due to fears they pose a "significant risk to the public, and the enviroment", the government said. Guidelines stated: "Disposable barbecues have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months." Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the country as a "tinderbox" last week and urged the public not to light fires, ahead of a meeting with farmers whom he warned are "at the sharp end of a changing climate".
