London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

UK heatwave: Why is it so hot?

UK heatwave: Why is it so hot?

The Met Office says we could see Britain's hottest recorded temperature within hours, an extraordinary milestone.

So why are we seeing such brutal temperatures? Most climate scientists say the answer is climate change.

The Met Office estimates that the extreme heat we will be seeing over the next couple of days has been made ten times more likely because of it.

We are being warned it could pose a life-threatening risk to even normally healthy people, and just look at the impact it is having in our hospitals, schools and transport systems.

Now remember, this is happening when average world temperatures have only risen just over 1C beyond levels seen before many parts of the world became industrialised.

One degree doesn't sound much, does it? But we're living in the hottest period for 125,000 years, according to the UN's climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

We know what's behind this - the greenhouse gas emissions caused by our burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, which trap heat in our atmosphere. They have helped push the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to the highest levels seen for 2 million years, according to the IPCC.


So where is our climate headed?

The target set by the UN is to limit global temperature increases to 1.5C higher than pre-industrial levels. It says that should avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

To do that, emissions need to have peaked by 2025 - yes, in only two and half years.

CO2 emissions from energy increased by 6% in 2021 to 36.3 billion tonnes - the highest ever level, the International Energy Agency estimates.

They need to virtually halve by 2030 - we need a minimum 43% reduction by the end of this decade, according to the IPCC.

Then the world needs to scale back emissions to net zero by 2050. That means cutting greenhouse gases as much as possible and finding ways to draw CO2 out of the atmosphere to make up for any that remain.

It is a huge challenge - many people believe the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.

Remember that big UN conference in Glasgow last year? If all the promises governments made there were actually implemented, then we'd be looking at temperatures rising by something like 2.4C from pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.

But the truth is even if we do succeed in reducing emissions to that really ambitious 1.5C target, UK summers will continue to get hotter.

"In a few decades this might actually be a quite a cool summer," says Professor Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London.

We should expect more and longer heatwaves in the future, says Professor Nigel Arnell, a climate scientist at Reading University.

We will be seeing more heat-health alerts, more heat-stress days - days when it is too hot to work - and damaging heat extremes to increase, he warns.


So what is the UK doing about it?

Nowhere near enough, is the stark conclusion of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the government's advisors on climate change.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the world was at "one minute to midnight" on climate change in his speech opening the Glasgow climate conference.

But in a report on the UK's progress towards net zero the CCC warned that his government's current policies are very unlikely to do the job.

It said the government has set a lot of targets and put a lot of policies in place but warns there is "scant evidence" these goals will be delivered.

And the country is not doing enough to prepare itself for the more frequent and intense heatwaves climate change will bring.

Heatwaves caused an additional 2,000 deaths in 2020, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

That figure is likely to triple in coming decades without government action, according to Baroness Brown, deputy chair of the Climate Change Committee.

"We've been telling the government for over 10 years that we are nothing like well enough prepared in the UK for the really hot weather we are seeing now," she says - particularly the extreme heat many people experience in their homes.

It is a "disgrace" people are dying of heat - or for that matter cold - in the UK, says Professor Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading.

Most UK buildings and infrastructure were not designed to cope with the kind of temperatures we are seeing this week and much more needs to be done to adapt them, she says.

"We have made great strides in forecasting extreme weather and climate conditions in recent years. Now we need the systems in place so that people and governments act on the warnings we can provide, whether three hours, three days, or three decades in advance."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×