World

New heatwave as UK poised for scorching summer record

By Pan Pylas

Aug 13, 2026

Parched parklands at Primrose Hill in London, Britain — People walk across the parched parklands at Primrose Hill in London, where a heat alert is in place. -EPA

Large parts of western Europe will be sweltering once again, with Britain poised for its fifth heatwave of an exceptional summer that is expected to be the hottest on record.

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Forecasters are predicting the mercury to rise as high as 38C in central and southeast England on Thursday, falling just short of the August record of 38.5C, set in 2003.

The Met Office has said that only average conditions were needed for the rest of August to beat 2025's record for the hottest year.

For a country that is largely not equipped to deal with these levels of heat, it's been a particularly uncomfortable few weeks.

Air-conditioning is a rarity outside of shops and offices.

Working has been particularly difficult in hospitals, where nurses have been known to collapse from heat exhaustion, according to the Royal College of Nursing.

The bulk of the country is now officially in drought, heaping pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment to mitigate, all of whom have to look for mitigations both in the short-term and in the long-term in the face of human-caused climate change.

Southern Water, which oversees supplies in the south of England, has applied for a rare drought order which would ban businesses from non-essential water use, including cleaning cars and filling non-domestic swimming pools, saying an "exceptional" lack of rain has threatened supplies in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.

Meanwhile, wildfires have been blazing uncontrollably, most notably this week in the New Forest in southern England.

Some 1017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales in 2026, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the same as last year's record-breaking total.

Though not on the level as those witnessed in France, Greece and Spain, they provide ample evidence of the need for the UK to adjust to a new reality.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will consider imposing a ban on disposable barbecues amid the risk of further wildfires as extreme heat continues to grip parts of the UK.

"I do believe we need to get the message out loud and clear," he said.

"People should not be using those barbecues outside at this moment in time."