Britain is facing an unprecedented heatwave that could shatter the June temperature record, as the Met Office issued its second-ever red ‘danger to life’ extreme heat warning for Wednesday and Thursday. The alert covers six regions of England, with forecasts of up to 40C in 36 locations – several degrees hotter than the previous June record set in 1976. High humidity and ‘tropical nights’ are expected to cause significant disruption to daily life, with road, rail and air travel facing major delays.
The rare red warning has triggered a wave of school closures across the country, an unusual move given there is no legal maximum temperature for classrooms. The Department for Education said it is up to individual schools to decide, but new advice asks them to ‘review actions to manage heat for all pupils and staff’ when a red alert is in force.
“Met Office issues red warning as temperatures may reach 40C, forcing dozens of schools to close early across England.”
Dozens of schools in the West Midlands and South of England have confirmed they will shut early or close entirely. Wren Academy in Enfield said it would close early on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to help ‘maintain a safe learning environment during high temperatures’. The Buckingham School, with around 1,200 students, will close its site on Wednesday and Thursday, moving to online learning. ‘Because most of our buildings cannot be cooled adequately and there is little shade outside, we have taken the difficult decision to close the school site on both days,’ the school said in a statement.
The Dorcan Academy in Swindon also announced closures on Wednesday and Thursday, citing ‘the age and design of our building, including multiple south and south-west-facing classrooms, which would be unsuitable during the forecast extreme temperatures’. It will open on Tuesday morning but close after 11.30am, with students told to wear summer PE kits. In Wiltshire, Kingdown School, Clarendon Academy, Pewsey Vale School and Dilton Marsh Primary finished lessons at 12.30pm on Monday. Kingsholm Primary in Gloucester will close at 1.30pm every day until Thursday. Many schools have also cancelled sports days.
The Met Office said the heatwave, intensified by human-driven climate change and a ‘heat-dome’ settling over western Europe, could see temperatures hit 38C to 40C in parts of England and Wales. Amber alerts have been issued for the North West, North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber for the same period. The first red heat health alert was in July 2022, when temperatures soared above 40C. Now, as the mercury climbs again, the nation braces for a week of extreme heat that threatens to upend daily life.