A fourth heatwave of the year is bearing down on parts of the UK, with temperatures forecast to climb into the mid-30s Celsius later this week – and fire chiefs are braced for a fresh wave of wildfires.
The new hot spell, which is expected to peak on Wednesday in the south-east and east of England, arrives as July 2026 is already the second hottest month on record, with a mean UK temperature of 17.5C, behind only July 2006’s 17.8C, according to the Met Office.
“UK braces for fourth heatwave as July becomes second hottest month on record, triggering health alerts and wildfire fears.”
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued amber heat health alerts for large parts of eastern England from 09:00 on Wednesday until 09:00 Thursday. The East Midlands, East of England, London and the South East are covered by the amber warning, while Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands and the South West face less severe yellow alerts for the same period.
But the heat will not be universal. Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to stay cooler and showery, with temperatures in the high teens or low to mid-20s Celsius, while central, southern and eastern England bake.
The intense heat, though short-lived compared with the three previous widespread heatwaves this summer, comes as parts of southern, central and eastern England are so dry they are close to drought, according to the National Drought Group. Rainfall in England this month has been just 4.4mm, one of the lowest levels on record, tied with June 1925 and behind only February 1891’s 3.3mm.
Already, an ongoing lack of rain has led to hosepipe bans for millions of households and dry vegetation has provided fuel for wildfires. Scotland has spent 12 days tackling a large blaze in the Cairngorms National Park that was declared a major incident and forced hundreds of locals to evacuate.
News of the hot spell has sparked wildfire warnings in England from emergency services. “Fire and rescue services remain on alert and are continuing to prepare for renewed wildfire risk,” a National Fire Chiefs Council spokesperson said.
Dr Zak Campbell-Lochrie, a fire science lecturer, explained that another heatwave with low humidity can “continue to dry out that vegetation”, making it more susceptible to ignition and leading to more rapid spread. “These smaller fires can cause a significant impact and be a risk to communities, as well as a wider smoke risk. It can definitely intensify as we see further drying of vegetation,” he said.
The Cairngorms blaze, combined with the pressure of previous heatwaves, means emergency services have fewer resources to tackle any new fires. “These large fire incidents are resource intensive and hard to put out,” Dr Campbell-Lochrie said. “We have already seen some challenges around air resources. Even if other fires occur which are not worrying, it is really difficult when you have that drain on resources and you’re dealing with multiple incidents at once.”
Despite the challenges, experts do not believe the UK will face fires as large as those currently raging in France and Spain, where huge blazes are just nine miles from Bordeaux and have been described as “apocalyptic”. Dr Campbell-Lochrie said that is because vegetation type plays a key role: “Weather is one aspect of the fire risk, but it is also about vegetation. There is a big difference in the class…”
As the UK braces for the latest heatwave, the question remains whether the nation’s stretched fire services can cope with the new threat.
