UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
The UK recorded its hottest day of the year, reaching 38.1C, marking the fifth heatwave of the season.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The UK recorded its hottest day of the year on [date], with provisional temperatures reaching 38.1 degrees Celsius at Kew Gardens in southwest London. This marks the fifth heatwave of the season and the fifth highest temperature ever recorded in the country. An amber extreme heat warning has been expanded and remains in place until the end of the day, with heat health alerts covering all of England until 9pm tomorrow.
The heat has put intense pressure on emergency services. Firefighters have been battling numerous wildfires, including a major incident in Norfolk and a blaze near Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where 60 firefighters were deployed. In South Wales, 20 homes were destroyed by a fire in Newbridge, and the fire service reported dealing with 30 separate wildfire incidents in a single day. England's A&E departments are experiencing their busiest period on record, with staff and patients struggling in hospitals where air conditioning has failed. The Royal College of Nursing has warned that some nurses have collapsed while on shift due to the heat.
The drought is also having a visible impact. At Rutland Water, the ruins of a village flooded 50 years ago have been exposed, and parts of East London have seen water supplies disrupted for days. Wisley Common in Surrey has had 57 days without rain, and the dry conditions are damaging wildlife and landscapes. Climate experts point to the melting of glaciers in the Swiss Alps, where an average of two metres of ice has been lost this summer, as another sign of the changing climate.
Political responses have been criticised for lacking urgency. A COBRA meeting chaired by the Prime Minister discussed adaptation measures, but critics say it produced little more than a possible ban on disposable barbecues. The government faces decisions on new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, while public support for net zero has fallen to 45%, even as concern about climate change remains high at 68%. Scientists stress that extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and severe due to greenhouse gas emissions, and that the UK must adapt its infrastructure and natural landscapes to cope with a hotter future.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England's A&E departments were experiencing their busiest period ever, with 2.49 million attendances in July alone. | · | · | · | |||
| The UK recorded its hottest day of the year on 13 August 2026, with a provisional peak of 38.1 degrees Celsius at Kew Gardens, the fifth hottest temperature ever recorded. | · | · | · | |||
| Parts of the UK were forecast to experience a fifth heatwave of the summer next week. | · | · | · | · | ||
| Swiss glaciers lost an average of two meters of ice this summer, equivalent to around 600,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and permafrost thawing is causing rock and ice falls. | · | · | · | · | ||
| Broadcasters reported that 45 million people in England currently live in a drought area. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Broadcasters reported that excess heat-related deaths are significantly higher than last year. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Support for net zero was reported at 45% while concern about climate change was reported at 68%. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The COBRA meeting was reported as ineffective in preparing for the heatwave. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| There have been six days in UK history with temperatures over 38C, all since 2000, including two this year and five in the past seven years. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Water bills are going up to help improve reservoir capacity and infrastructure. | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focuses on the extraordinary nature of the heat, with meteorologist Clare Nasir emphasising that this is not normal and that people die in such conditions. It also highlights the fifth heatwave and compares the current summer with 1976, concluding that this is a trend, not an outlier. The segment also mentions water bill increases as a response to shortages.
- “There's nothing normal about this type of heat, to be honest, Simon. It's extraordinary.”
- “This is the fifth heatwave.”
- “1976 was an outlier. It was a spike amongst a sea of normal summers. This is a very different beast.”
This report provides a broad overview of the heatwave's impacts, focusing on emergency services, wildfires, hospital pressure, drought, and climate change. It includes a climate editor segment linking the heat to greenhouse gas emissions and calls for larger, connected nature reserves. The tone is factual and urgent, highlighting the strain on public services and the environment.
- “It is the UK's hottest day of the year after provisional temperatures peaked at 38.1 degrees Celsius in Kew Gardens in southwest London, the fifth hottest temperature ever recorded.”
- “An amber extreme heat warning has been expanded and is in place until the end of today.”
- “If we continue adding billions of tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere we will continue tipping the odds relentlessly towards hotter and hotter summers year after year here in the UK and all around the world.”
This is a signed version of the BBC News at Six, providing the same content as the BBC ONE West report. It covers the record temperature, wildfire incidents, hospital strain, drought, and climate impacts, with a strong emphasis on the need for adaptation and the stark reality of a changing climate.
- “It is the UK's hottest day of the year after provisional temperatures peaked at 38.1 degrees Celsius in Kew Gardens in southwest London, the fifth hottest temperature ever recorded.”
- “An AMBA extreme heat warning has been expanded and is in place until the end of today.”
- “That pond has never dried up in the 17 years I've been here.”
Channel 4 frames the heatwave as part of a clear trend, not an aberration, and highlights the human and political consequences. It reports on wildfires, hospital staff collapsing, and the government's inadequate response, including criticism of the COBRA meeting. The tone is investigative and critical of political leadership on climate adaptation.
- “This is not an aberration. It is a trend, an alarming one worsened by what we ourselves do and what we put in the atmosphere.”
- “The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service today said that they are dealing with 30 wildfire incidents.”
- “The only thing that is talked about is possibly banning disposable barbecues. This was a moment for leadership and actually what we got was a monumental dereliction of duty.”
Newsnight takes a more analytical and political approach, discussing the fifth heatwave and the decline in public support for net zero despite high climate concern. It features a panel debate on government adaptation, including criticism over lack of reservoirs and the handling of oil and gas policy. The tone is deliberative and questioning of political commitments.
- “the UK is now in its fifth heatwave of the year and today recorded its hottest day of the year so far.”
- “Temperatures of 35 degrees or above have been recorded for four consecutive months May, June, July and August and that has not happened before.”
- “If you open new oil and gas fields, the International Energy Agency has said that achieving less than 1.5 degrees of warming is basically impossible.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.