London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

UK heatwave: UK set for new heatwave as temperatures head to 35C

UK heatwave: UK set for new heatwave as temperatures head to 35C

The UK is set for another heatwave this week with highs of up to 35C (95F) in some parts, forecasters have said.

The Met Office said while conditions would be below the 40.3C recorded last month, the hot weather could last for a longer period.

More parts of England are also facing hosepipe bans amid very dry conditions, as fire crews warn of wildfires.

Heat health-alerts have been put in place across England by the UK Health Security Agency.

A level three warning will cover southern and central England from midday on Tuesday until 18:00 BST on Saturday, with a level two alert in place for northern England for the same period.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said a "fairly widespread heatwave" was developing across the UK this week with the peak of the temperatures likely to be on Friday or Saturday.

"It does look like a prolonged period of dry weather and obviously that's bad news for southern England where some rain would really be useful now," he said.

Temperatures will build from 28C or 29C on Tuesday and reach the low to mid-30s from Thursday, Mr Morgan said.

He said the West Midlands and West Country could see with highest temperatures with a maximum of around 35C, but this is uncertain.

A heatwave is defined as above average temperatures seen for three days or more.

England had its driest July since 1935, said the Met Office. For some parts - south-east and central southern England - last month was the driest since records began in 1836.

There have also been calls for more hosepipe bans to be brought in ,including from Environment Secretary George Eustice.

Southern Water already has in place a hosepipe ban for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, and from Friday South East Water will do the same in Kent and Sussex.

A ban has also been in place in the Isle of Man since 29 July, where customers could face a £2,000 fine if they break the rules.

Welsh Water will bring in a ban for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire later this month.

In France, the government has set up a crisis team to tackle a drought that has left more than 100 municipalities short of drinking water.


'Wild fire risk increases'


Last month's record temperatures saw a series of wildfires across the country and Riccardo la Torre, from the Fire Brigades Union, described them as "brutal".

"They burn at extremely high temperatures, they spread faster than firefighters can move and they are very labour intensive," he said.

He said fire services were under strain and claimed the reason blazes "spread with regularity is because we do not have resources to get there quickly enough".

The government said spending for fire services had been increased by around £141m to £1.37bn over the last six years, "demonstrating our commitment to ensuring fire services have the resources they need".

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has urged people not to light bonfires or barbecues, or let off fireworks or sky lanterns, after a large blaze which damaged gardens, sheds and trees was started by a chiminea.

Mark Hardingham, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council said: "I have not seen a distinction between the two heatwaves - it has remained hot between then and now and equally there's been no rainfall."

He said crews were expecting the busiest time of day to be between 13:00 and 19:00 BST every day and said fire chiefs would aim to maximise on-call firefighters in rural areas to help cope with demand.

A combine harvester and the surrounding field caught fire in Gloucestershire on Monday, following a weekend of fires in the West which saw thousands of square metres of farmland destroyed.


'Relieve pressure on rivers'


Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) said water companies who have not called for a hosepipe ban "will be keeping it under constant review".

"The advantage of doing it [a hosepipe ban] right now would be that it relieves pressure on their rivers," he said.

Speaking on the BBC's The World at One programme he said there were simple steps people could take to help such as "reducing the number of minutes we spend in the shower".

He said there was no doubt climate change was affecting our infrastructure and said water was something we took for granted.


'Agriculture will be hit'


The National Farmers Union warned the heatwave was compounding problems already caused by months of dry weather - grass not growing and irrigation water running out are two.

Deputy president Tom Bradshaw told the BBC: "The biggest concern is always animal health and welfare and trying to make sure the animals are well looked after.

"There's also an impact on crops, particularly some vegetable crops - once they get over the mid-20s in temperature they stop growing".

Keith Stones, who farms in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, has been struggling to find grass to feed his livestock.

He told the BBC: "The ewes producing the milk for the lambs are thin because they're not picking up enough nutrition from the forage.

"The lambs are becoming pot-bellied and thin because they're not getting nutrition from the grass or from the milk because the mums aren't supplying."

The dry weather has also caused staff at Kew Gardens, in south-west London, to prioritise which plants that have high conservation value, historic importance or which are extinct in the wild.

Director of gardens Richard Barley said this included not irrigating wider lawns and natural habitats.

The heat-health alerts, which are designed to help healthcare professionals manage periods of extreme temperatures, mean care homes will be monitoring residents closely.

David Lewis, manager of Cwmbran House Care Home in Cwmbran, Wales, said they were encouraging drinking as "much as possible" and offering ice creams and lollies if residents get warm.

"We're ventilating the rooms and have got fans in the lounges", he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×