Temperatures have already climbed above 35C in some parts of England, on what could turn out to be the hottest day of the year so far.
The Met Office said that by midday temperatures had reached 36.4C at Charlwood in Surrey, while at Wisley temperatures had hit 35.1C, and a number of other spots were above 34C, including Westonbirt in Gloucestershire and Heathrow, West London.
It makes it provisionally the ninth day in 2026 where temperatures are above 35C, the Met Office said, extending this year’s record number of days at or above 35C.
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.
It if rises above 38C, it will be the hottest day of the year so far, beating the the 38C recorded at Lingwood in Norfolk on June 28, amid a deadly heatwave which prompted a rare red warning for extreme heat.
On Thursday morning, the Met Office expanded its amber warning for “extreme heat” to cover more of England, as it warned some of the highest temperatures could be seen in the Midlands and western areas.
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.
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.
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 a statement on Thursday morning, the service said: “Once again firefighters have been working through the night at the scene of the New Forest wildfire.”
Along with colleagues from other fire services, crews have been using techniques including mulching, tree felling and “backburning”, controlled burning to create firebreaks, the statement said.
“Our teams continue to make good progress, but we still expect to be on the scene for the next few days, with the A31 remaining closed,” the service said.
