UK has hottest day of year so far as temperatures hit 38.1C
The UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, as temperatures provisionally reached 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London, the Met Office said.
It is the second time this year the country has seen temperatures reach 38C, and the new high surpasses the previous hottest day of 2026 when 38C was recorded in the late June heatwave as the UK struggled under a rare “red warning” for extreme temperatures.
The only other time temperatures have reached 38C twice in a year was in 2022 when the UK recorded its hottest ever temperatures, the Met Office said.
It also means Thursday is the fifth hottest day on record.
The intense heat has made 2026 the first year on record to see three separate days where temperatures reached the 37C threshold, as well as the first year with four days at 36C or above, and extends 2026’s record-breaking run of days above 35C.
The latest records come as much of England is under an amber warning for extreme heat, in the face of the fifth heatwave in a summer which has also been marked by extremely dry weather and drought for much of England and Wales.
The amber warning is in place for a swathe of England from London to Sheffield, parts of Cheshire and Greater Manchester, into Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in the South West and Shropshire and Herefordshire in the west until the end of Thursday.
Meanwhile a yellow warning has been issued for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland, which is in place until 6am on Friday.
Amber heat health alerts are also in place for most of England until Friday, with officials urging people to take simple precautions such as staying out of the sun at the hottest part of the day, checking in on vulnerable friends and family, and staying hydrated.
The UK is facing increasingly extreme conditions such as heatwaves, drought and wildfires fuelled by climate change, which is mostly driven by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels for power plants, vehicles, heating and industry.
Baroness Brown, who chairs the independent advisory Climate Change Committee’s adaptation work, warned it “gets worse from here” until greenhouse gas emissions are cut to zero overall, known as net zero.
Climate advisers are also urging the Government to take steps to prepare the UK for worsening extremes, from making it easier for farmers to build reservoirs to putting air conditioning in hospitals and providing grants for vulnerable families to do the same.
With record dry conditions in July and a dry start to August, nearly three-quarters of England and the whole of Wales are in drought, heaping pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment.
England and Wales have already seen as many wildfires this year as during the whole of 2025.
Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data shared by the National Fire Chiefs Council, the same as last year’s record-breaking total.
Crews from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service have continued battling a blaze which hit protected heathland in the New Forest after a van caught fire on the A31 near Ringwood on Sunday.
Published: by Radio NewsHub