Britain could enjoy the hottest day of the year so far as this summer’s fifth heatwave reaches its climax.
Parts of the country could swelter in temperatures as high as 38C – while Mediterranean hotspots like Barcelona or Benidorm are expected to reach 33C at most.
The Met Office has issued a sizeable amber heat warning in a large blob covering central England, stretching from Sheffield to south London, from 9am to midnight on Thursday.
The wider population is “likely to experience some adverse health effects including sunburn or heat exhaustion”, Britons are told in forecasters’ warnings.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said temperatures are on course to be “exceptionally high” and promised “lots of sunshine” across many parts of the country.
Thermometers, he said, could shoot to highs of 36, 37, and possibly 38C around central eastern areas.
Though the north and west are in store for cooler climes, with western areas in particular looking at fresher weather than yesterday.
Across the land, Met Office temperature maps are dark red, with Birmingham, Coventry, Reading, Oxford, Cambridge, Peterborough and London all in store for at least 35C heat.
Mr Burkill also pointed that Thursday could be the hottest day of the year so far if temperatures exceed that 38C benchmark.
While if Britain records anything higher than 38.5C, that could mark the hottest August day on record.
But the Met Office forecaster said that exact figure would be “actually pretty unlikely”.
The highest temperature of 2026 so far was a boiling 38C at Lingwood in Norfolk on June 28.
SUMMER HEATWAVE – READ MORE:
- Britons face ban from swimming pools and car washes under rare emergency order
- Nearly three-quarters of Britain officially in drought amid record weather conditions
- Met Office considers red ‘extreme heat warning’ across UK while nation enjoys ‘incredible summer’
“When you get these sorts of high temperatures… We could see impacts to our infrastructure, our railway lines, our roads, they are not designed for this sort of heat,” Mr Burkill cautioned.
“More people are likely to be impacted by how hot it is with regards to their health.”
Further across the panel, it’s set to be cloudier towards the North, with some outbreaks of rain set to buffet western parts of Northern Ireland.
Northwest Scotland, meanwhile, is in store for heavier bursts of rain while southern Britain basks in the Sun.
But despite the heat, the Prime Minister has urged all shops in the country to stop selling disposable barbecues – even hinting at an outright ban in the summers to come.
Most major UK supermarkets have already stopped sales of disposable barbecues in recent weeks in line with guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council.
And at least two rail operators have already conceded defeat to the warm weather.
Chiltern Railways and East Midlands Railway have issued alerts to “only travel if essential”.
Other operators will either run a reduced timetable or are warning about the potential for short-notice cancellations.
Our Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter
