The United Kingdom has sweltered through a third consecutive day of record-breaking June temperatures, with the mercury peaking at 36.9C in Wattisham, Suffolk, on Friday – surpassing the 36.7C recorded at Merryfield, Somerset, a day earlier. The unprecedented stretch has intensified pressure on the government to deliver a credible climate adaptation strategy, as experts warn that the country is dangerously unprepared for the accelerating effects of global heating.
Record-breaking heat and mounting toll
The highest maximum temperature for June has now been broken three times this week, following a pattern that saw May also set new UK daily temperature records. The heatwave is part of a wider European crisis: Bilbao, Spain, recorded its hottest June day at 42.7C, and the continent is warming twice as fast as the global average. Rapid attribution analysis indicates that human-induced climate change has added between 2C and 4C to the current event, making such extremes far more likely and intense.
Beyond the numbers, the human cost is already visible. Toby Perkins, the Labour MP who chairs Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee, said a “significant number of deaths” were likely as a direct result of the heatwave, echoing previous heatwaves that have killed thousands. Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the newly established National Heat Risk Commission, warned that the extreme temperatures risk “hundreds of millions of pounds” in economic losses due to lower productivity and infrastructure failures, and “will cause the deaths of hundreds of people across the country”. She added: “This is not normal.”
Hospitals in England have declared critical incidents. Medical equipment – including radiotherapy machines and MRI scanners – has failed, cooling systems have broken down, and some wards have reached 35C. The surge in admissions and A&E attendances has caused severe overcrowding, with East Surrey Hospital restricting services to life-threatening emergencies only. Older patients have been particularly affected. Research suggests heat-related hospital attendances could triple by 2050 under a 2C warming scenario, and a 2022 heatwave caused cooling system failures at data centres serving two major London hospitals, costing the NHS £1.5 million. More than a thousand schools have closed or reduced hours. Analysis by Global Witness found that at 3pm on Tuesday the average temperature exceeded 31C across large swathes of England, with more than 1,200 schools in areas where outdoor temperatures breached 34C. Teachers reported indoor temperatures of 35C, making learning “very difficult”. Pupils could lose up to 12 days of learning per year on average without adaptation. London schools were the most likely to close early. There is no legal limit on classroom temperatures.
Rail services have been disrupted, with trains forced to reduce speed to prevent tracks buckling, and passengers advised to travel only if absolutely necessary. Transport for London is adapting the capital’s network for more frequent heatwaves. Electrical malfunctions and power cuts are also a growing risk, with grid outages becoming more common during extreme weather.
Government response and adaptation demands
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned for more than a decade that the UK’s plans to protect people from rapidly worsening extreme weather are inadequate. In its May 2026 report, “A Well-Adapted UK,” the CCC said the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists” and needed urgent changes to survive global heating. It estimates that 92% of existing homes will overheat within about 20 years. The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3), published in July 2023, was described by the CCC as “falling far short of what is needed”, lacking the pace and ambition to address growing climate risks. Experts have called the programme “very weak”. The Committee’s first full progress report on NAP3 is due in 2025.
Toby Perkins has written to the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, demanding answers on how the government plans to tackle overheating in buildings. He pressed for views on establishing maximum workplace temperatures, prescribing air conditioning for vulnerable people, and changing school timetables. He also highlighted the “devastating” effects on hospitals, care homes, schools, transport, water, food and IT systems. “Taking action carries a significant cost,” Perkins said. “But the cost of doing nothing is far, far greater.”
The climate minister, Katie White, told MPs on Wednesday: “If anyone still thinks that climate change is a problem for tomorrow, they should step outside today. We are upgrading transport, upgrading industry and upgrading infrastructure that in many cases was designed for a different century and a different economy.” A government spokesperson said ministers were “working across government to carefully consider the Climate Change Committee’s latest recommendations in relation to climate adaptation”. The spokesperson pointed to existing actions: investing in clean power, ensuring new homes are designed to minimise unwanted heat, and launching an adaptation advice service for local authorities.
The National Heat Risk Commission, an independent body based at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE, was established in March 2026 and is chaired by Emma Howard Boyd. It will publish an interim report this summer and a final report in June 2027. The Commission highlights that extreme heat disproportionately affects the most vulnerable – those in social housing, the elderly, the very young, people with underlying health conditions, and pregnant women. Heat risk is linked to existing disadvantage, affecting those in poorly insulated homes, top-floor flats, dense urban areas, and workplaces without cooling. “Heat Ready London,” the capital’s first heat plan, focuses on protecting those at highest risk, retrofitting buildings, expanding access to cooling spaces, and improving infrastructure resilience. Analysis reveals one million London homes may be at high risk of overheating.
Flossie Boyd of Global Witness said: “It’s frightening to think of teachers and pupils trying to work and learn in swelteringly hot classrooms. This heatwave is a reminder of why we need climate adaptation now – to cool down our schools, and keep children safe. Investment in climate-friendly cooling measures, renewables that don’t heat our planet, and shade for our playgrounds, is vital. These measures should be funded by taxing the fossil fuel polluters who drove this extreme heat crisis.”
Friends of the Earth reported in August 2025 that nearly 10,000 care homes, 1,012 hospitals and 10,064 nurseries in England are in areas most at risk from dangerous heatwaves. Without adaptation, heat-related excess deaths could rise to between 3,000 and 10,000 per year by 2050 under 2C of global warming. The Met Office has indicated that Britain could reach peak temperatures of 45C by 2056, with more extreme heatwaves than that of 1976. Unchecked climate change could reduce UK economic output by up to 7% of GDP by 2050.
Perkins said the next iteration of the national adaptation programme – due in 2028 – “truly is a step change if we are to avoid the worst of the impacts from a changing climate”.
