By Bethan Finighan
Extreme temperatures will continue to affect parts of England today as a heat-health warning remains in place across large parts of the country. Temperatures could hit 34C or 35C in the south-east of England on Tuesday (July 1), the Met Office says, possibly marking the hottest day of the year so far after the previous record of 33.2C was set in Charlwood, Surrey on June 21. While the heat will remain across southern and eastern parts of England, it is expected to be a cooler and cloudier day elsewhere in the UK. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) extended amber heat-health alerts for much of England, which are set to remain in place until 9am on Wednesday. The alerts warn that weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, with vulnerable individuals, such as those older than 65 or people with pre-existing health conditions, most at risk. Meanwhile, Europe remains in the grip of the first major heatwave this summer, with scorching 40C heat affecting Spain, France, Italy, Greece and beyond. Meteorologists say Europe – including the UK – is under the influence of a “heat dome” affecting its weather, which happens when an area of high pressure air stays over the same area for days or weeks. This dome then traps hot air and blocks out clouds and cooler air, baking the air and surface beneath it. The current heat dome is centred around Denmark, placing the UK on its western edge, according to Dr Akshay Deoras from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science & Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. “This heat dome is bringing stable, mostly cloudless weather and drawing in hot, dry air from the south,” Dr Deoras explains. However, experts also warn that climate change is likely “intensifying” the ongoing heatwave. Dr Deoras added: “Earth is now significantly warmer than what it used to be in the past, which increases the possibility of witnessing heatwaves whenever heat domes form during the summer. Besides, such extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.” He added: “Heatwaves are deadly. They disproportionately affect vulnerable groups – older adults, young children, people with chronic illnesses, and those without secure housing. “Prolonged heat can overwhelm the body’s ability to regulate temperature, leading to dehydration, heat exhaustion, and potentially fatal heatstroke.” Researchers have also likened the ongoing heatwave to the extreme weather seen in 2022, when temperatures hit 40C in the UK for the first time on record. More than 1,000 excess deaths among older people were recorded around the four-day peak of the 2022 heatwave, with more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England over the entire summer. “The 2025 heatwave is strikingly comparable to 2022 in its atmospheric dynamics and early-season severity,” warned Dr Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London. “But its ultimate health toll – measured via excess deaths – won’t be clear until after the season ends.”