A rare amber warning for “extreme heat” has been expanded to cover more of England, as the UK could see the hottest day of the year so far.
Temperatures could reach 38C in some parts of England, in the fifth heatwave of what is on track to be a record hot summer – beating the previous record set only last year.
The amber warning by the Met Office was already in place for an area of England stretching from London to Sheffield, covering parts of the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands and South Yorkshire, until midnight on Thursday.
It has been expanded into North West England to cover parts of Cheshire and Greater Manchester, into Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in the South West and Shropshire and Herefordshire in the west, with the highest temperatures expected in parts of the Midlands and western England.
Meanwhile a yellow warning has been issued for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland, which is in place until 6am on Friday.
It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Wednesday in response to the prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather.
Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: “Temperatures (in areas covered by the amber warning) could reach highs of around 36, 37, possibly 38C.
“Now when you get these sorts of high temperatures, well that’s when we could see impacts to our infrastructure, our railway lines, our roads, they are not designed for this sort of heat.
“And more people are likely to be impacted by how hot it is with regards to their health.”
He added: “It could be the hottest day of the year so far if we get above 38C, and if we get above 38.5C, well it could be the hottest August day on record, but that’s actually pretty unlikely.”
The highest temperature of the year was 38C recorded at Lingwood in Norfolk on June 28, amid a deadly heatwave which prompted a rare red warning for extreme heat.
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.
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.
And England and Wales have already seen as many wildfires this year as in 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 (NFCC), 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.
In an update on Wednesday evening, the fire service said crews expect to be at the scene for at least another three to four days.
Most major UK supermarkets have stopped sales of disposable barbecues in recent weeks in line with voluntary guidance from the NFCC.
Mr Burnham has urged all shops to stop selling them and indicated that an outright ban could be considered in future summers.
The Prime Minister also said that there had been a “significant number of excess deaths from heat this summer already” and urged the public to follow health advice, including checking in on elderly friends and relatives.
Two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June led to more than 2,800 excess deaths.
The Royal College of Nursing has warned that nurses are collapsing at work and are being forced to care for patients in temperatures in excess of 30C.
Others have reported seizures and “dripping with sweat from head to toe”, and nurses have said patients are being cared for in hospitals which have been described as “unbearably hot” and “not fit for humans”.
Meanwhile, 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.
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Amber warning for extreme heat on Thursday as temperatures could hit 38C
