The current heat wave, which pushed temperatures above 30c, could be 10 times higher because of climate change.
After reaching 32.2C at Kew Gardens in London on Thursday afternoon, temperatures are expected to reach up to 34C on Saturday, making it the hottest day in the UK.
Some of the countries were able to see the first tropical night of 2025 over the weekend.
Scientists from World Weather Attributes, an academic group analyzing weather phenomena, said climate change increased 32c days in the UK by 100 times more than before the industrial revolution. The three-day June heatwave, over 28c, is now 10 times more likely to occur.
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“With all degrees of warming, the UK will experience a hotter and more dangerous heat wave,” says Ben Clark, a researcher at the Imperial College Environmental Policy Centre in London. “It means more heat deaths, more pressure on the NHS, more transport disruptions, more working conditions, and poorer air quality.”
The UK’s National Weather Service Met Office said this week there will be a chance of 50-50°C over the next 12 years after that threshold was first broken in 2022.
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Drought
Hot weather continues to be the driest spring of more than a century, with much of the UK battling drought.
Companies that include Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Affinity Water and Wales water have been asking customers to voluntarily curb consumption, but this year it’s on the rise.
Although the Hosepipe ban is not in place, the Environment Agency has declared droughts in the northwest and Yorkshire, while warning of extreme rainfall elsewhere.
Water UK, an industrial and trade organization, was urging people to save water after discovering that the British people believe that the people of England use 62 liters of water a day.
“In the next five years, the water company will begin work on nine new reservoirs as part of a record £100 billion investment to secure water supply, build more homes and support economic growth,” he added.
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Death fever
The old British housing stock that often retains the summer heat and the lack of air conditioning in the home mean that Britons are exposed to more heat than elsewhere in the Western world.
On Thursday, the Health Security Agency and the MET Office issued a rare Amber Health Weather Warning, which is used to show that weather effects are likely to be felt across health services, along with seniors and those whose health conditions are at their most risk.
Around 2,000 people died in the UK during the heat wave of 2003, but around 3,000 heat-related deaths were killed in the summer of 2023, when a severe heat wave struck Europe.
Akshay Deoras, a scientist at the University of Reading, said heat-related deaths were “a preventable tragedy that disproportionately affects our most vulnerable citizens.”
“The human body has a hard time dealing with rising temperatures, leading to dehydration, heat exhaustion and potentially fatal heat strokes,” he added.
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The London Mayor’s office has been working with local councils to provide emergency assistance to the city’s homeless population during the heat wave.
People who work outside are also exposed to fever-related health risks. On Monday, the Trade Union Conference urged the UK government to enact the largest working temperature, as well as Spanish, German and Chinese laws.
Solar power generation
Britain’s solar power generation has increased by almost 40% this year in total power generation compared to the same period in 2024. According to an analysis by ClimateNews website Carbon Brief, more than 10% of total electricity generation came from solar power generation in April and May.
According to data from the University of Sheffield, solar had met a third of the UK’s electricity demand.
The surge was due to sunny weather and increased capacity of solar panels. As of April, it had an capacity of 18 gigawatts, and that 1GW was added over the past year, official figures show. The government aims to hit its 45-47GW capacity by 2030.
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leisure
Sunny spells also led to increased leisure activities and spending as British people began to blink in the sunlight.
Tesco, Wetherspoons, Next and Kinghisher own DIY chain B&Q and believe sales are on the rise this spring. Roasingury, CEO of bakery chain Gregs, told the Financial Times last month that the warm weather is “out of the door.”
Train bookings to the UK’s 12 most popular seaside towns have averaged a quarter of the year, according to Trainline data. Meanwhile, the cycle journey on London’s Victoria Embankment (a boulevard important for bicycle commuters in the capital) exceeded 18,000 on Monday, surpassing the record for a day without a tube strike, according to crowdsourcing social media accounts that monitor traffic at London’s counters.
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