Heatwave Week Begins With 29C Expected Today
The south of England is forecast to reach 29C today as the week-long heat event builds towards a peak near 34C in the South East on Thursday or Friday. Yellow heat-health alerts across six regions run until Saturday evening, warning of greater risk to life for vulnerable people and of water-related incidents. The heat is drier than June’s record spell — but longer, and it arrives with Southern Water’s hosepipe ban starting Friday for a million customers.
Duration is this event’s hazard: an eight-day window of 30C-plus stresses the NHS and care sector differently from a short spike, with heat deaths typically peaking two to three days into a spell — putting midweek in focus as temperatures climb towards the Thursday-Friday peak. June’s benchmarks are the context: a provisional UK June record of 37.7C and the first-ever three consecutive days of red extreme-heat warnings. Water stress is now following the heat, with two companies restricting supply in the South East before mid-July. Watch for amber escalation from the UKHSA midweek, and further hosepipe announcements if river levels keep falling.