UK weather set for 1995 heat record to fall next week
LONDON — The UK is heading into another hot spell, and a heat record set in 1995 is likely to be broken next week, according. Weather heat — full details here.
LONDON — The UK is heading into another hot spell, and a heat record set in 1995 is likely to be broken next week, according to reports and forecasters tracking the build-up across England and Wales.
The warning matters fast. Yellow heat health alerts are already in force for most of England, with officials flagging pressure on health and social care services and a higher risk to life for vulnerable people as temperatures climb again.
Temperatures set to climb from Saturday
The Met Office says conditions will warm from Saturday, after a cooler spell earlier in the week. Honor Criswick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “The warm weather is continuing once again,” adding that Friday is set to be a “nice, dry, settled day with quite a bit of warm sunshine around”.
By Sunday and into next week, temperatures could exceed 30C in south-east England. The BBC reported that many parts of the UK are expected to rise above their local heatwave threshold of 25C to 28C, depending on location, with the warmer weather likely to last well into the week.
That puts the country on course for what could become the fifth widespread heatwave of the year. It would be another sharp swing for a summer that has already produced repeated spells of high heat.
England and Wales face the sharpest rise
The Independent reported that much of central and southern England, along with some parts of Wales, could see highs of 30C to 33C by next Tuesday. BBC weather reporting said temperatures on Saturday should reach the mid- to high 20s Celsius in most of England and Wales, before rising further.
Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to stay cooler, with temperatures of 17C to 21C, along with more cloud, some rain and a blustery wind.
Yellow heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency cover the East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, South West, East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, and London. They came into force at 9am on Saturday August 8 and end at 9pm on Tuesday August 11.
Dry ground, hotter air
The heat comes after a notably dry July. The Met Office said last month was the driest July for England and Wales since records began in 1836, and it added that 19 counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall — 1mm or less — over the whole month.
Across Europe, the heat has already been severe. The World Meteorological Organization said June 2026 was the hottest June recorded for western Europe and the second warmest globally, with heat continuing into July and fuelling wildfires in France and the Iberian Peninsula.
For Britain, the next few days will decide how far the mercury goes. The immediate test starts with Sunday’s rise, and the heat alerts are already set to be updated in the coming days as a widespread heatwave develops.
