London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 21, 2026

Extreme heat warning extended to east of Scotland

Extreme heat warning extended to east of Scotland

The Met Office amber warning for extreme heat has been extended to cover a larger part of Scotland.

The extreme heat was originally forecast to affect only parts of southern Scotland.

But now the Met Office has extended the amber warning to eastern areas.

This includes Fife, the Lothians and parts of Tayside, Perthshire and central Scotland. Temperatures are expected to hit 30C (86F) on Monday and Tuesday.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged the public to "take care and follow sensible advice".

In a social media post, she advised people to "keep out of direct sun, stay well hydrated and look out for others who may be suffering from the heat."

A national emergency has been declared in the UK, with the first ever red extreme heat warning issued in England.

Temperatures could reach 41C (106F) in England next week, while the rest of the UK could also see new record highs.


The highest temperature recorded in Scotland was 32.9C (91.2F) at Greycrook in the Borders in August 2003.

The Met Office warned that this figure could be topped this week.

Meteorologist Becky Mitchell told BBC Radio Scotland's Sunday Show: "It looks like we could potentially beat that, probably on Tuesday but temperatures will be hot on Monday as well.

"On Tuesday we could see temperatures that are potentially in the mid-30s."

The amber warning now affects the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Dundee and parts of Perthshire, Falkirk, Ayrshire, Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Lanarkshire.


Threat to health


Dr Margaret Harris, of World Health Organisation, told BBC Scotland that people need to plan ahead.

She said: "We need to take this one very seriously, heatwaves are one of the most serious threats to human health, but it is often underappreciated how much of a natural disaster they can be.

"People at either end of the age span, either young or very old, cannot regulate their body temperature like those in the middle so they need to be looked after."

The heatwave is already causing travel disruption with LNER, which runs services between Scotland and England, cancelling all trains south of York on Tuesday.

Avanti West Coast said it would be running a much reduced service on Monday and Tuesday. Passengers are being asked to only travel if necessary.

Track operator Network Rail said the heat is expected to cause rails to expand and buckle or overhead lines to sag.

People are being urged to keep well-hydrated during the high temperatures


Scotland's justice secretary Keith Brown, who attended the UK Cobra emergency committee on Saturday, also urged the public to prepare for the heat.

He said: "We are aware of the extension to the weather warnings currently in place and are receiving regular updates from partners including the Met Office and emergency services.

"Our resilience arrangements have been activated and stand ready at all times to coordinate a response to severe weather issues where required. We will continue to closely monitor developments."

Scottish Water has requested that people help maintain normal supplies by being as efficient as possible with water use.

It urged the public to use watering cans rather than hoses in gardens, not to fill up paddling pools and to take shorter showers.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has also advised businesses to reduced their water usage.

It said there had been a water scarcity warning every year since 2018 - but this year was "particularly bad".

The Met Office red warning - the highest level - covers an area including London, Manchester and York on Monday and Tuesday.

Parts of Scotland and the rest of England and Wales are under an amber warning for extreme heat - while in Europe, deadly wildfires have broken out in Portugal, Spain and southwestern France.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Museum Faces Questions Over Peter Thiel’s Private Bayeux Tapestry Viewing
Earl Spencer Memoir Excerpts Renew Public Debate Over Diana’s Death
Liberal Democrats Gather in Brighton for Autumn Conference
Mothercare Shares Plunge as Middle East Store Closures Threaten Long-Term Solvency
Kent Police Treat Folkestone Hotel Fire as Suspicious
Caribbean Governments Advance Reparations Campaign Seeking Engagement With Britain
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
FCA Urges Young Adults to Trace £1.5 Billion in Unclaimed Child Trust Funds
UK Competition Regulator Opens Inquiry Into McCormick-Unilever Foods Deal
Public Inquiry Into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Mental Health Failings Set to Begin
Nigel Farage Looks to US Immigration Enforcement Model for UK Border Policy
Chiltern Railways Moves Into Public Ownership
Security Review Raises Concerns Over Sensitive UK Police Data Stored on Microsoft Cloud
Burnham Government Warns of Difficult Autumn Budget as Fiscal Headroom Narrows
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
England Tightens School Food Standards With Restrictions on Deep-Fried and High-Sugar Foods
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Proposed Asylum Centre
Michael Marra Elected Leader of Scottish Labour
BBC Cash Reserves Fall Sharply as Financial Pressures Mount
George Osborne Calls for UK to Rejoin EU Customs Union
×