Millions of UK households are being urged to keep their doors and windows closed as temperatures are set to soar again on Thursday. Britain is on course to be hit by yet another heatwave, and people are being advised on how to keep cool during this new spell of hot weather.
Met Office advice on keeping cool
The Met Office is urging people to "close curtains in rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces cooler". It added that "counter intuitively, closing doors and windows in the heat of the day can keep it cooler inside". People are also urged to "keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm, when the UV rays are strongest".
In addition, the Met Office is reminding Britons that "the NHS identifies the main health risks posed by a heatwave as not having enough water (dehydration); overheating, which can make symptoms worse for people who already have problems with their heart or breathing, and heat exhaustion and heatstroke, which are potentially serious conditions that can occur if you get too hot".
Amber warning in force
This follows the Met Office's 14-hour amber warning for extreme heat coming into force for 37 areas on Thursday. The alert will be in place for parts of the East Midlands, East of England, London and the South-east, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber, running from 9am until 11.59pm.
The highest temperatures could reach 37C or 38C. A Met Office forecast for Thursday reads: "Hot for many on Thursday, with an Amber Extreme Heat Warning issued. Dry and sunny for most, but turning fresher and cloudier from Friday, with patchy rain possible in places."
Hottest summer on record possible
The UK is on course for its hottest summer on record, with only average conditions needed for the rest of August to beat the record set just last year, the Met Office said. Moreover, nearly three quarters of England and the whole of Wales are in drought, after a record dry July and very dry start to August combined with high temperatures to put pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment.
Provisional statistics from the Met Office show that the mean temperature for the summer so far, from June 1, stands at 16.48C – which is 1.88C above the 1991 to 2020 average. To equal the 16.12C in 2025, the UK’s warmest summer on record, the rest of August would only need to be 0.21C below the long-term average, and any warmer than this would establish a new record for the country.
