More Than 2,700 Heat-Related Deaths Estimated in England and Wales During May and June Heatwaves

More than 2,700 people may have died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during May and June 2026, according to estimates from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The study attributes approximately 550 deaths to the period between 21 and 29 May and nearly 2,200 deaths to the period between 18 and 28 June.

June 2026 was the warmest June on record in England, with a peak of 37.7°C recorded at Lingwood, Norfolk.

That temperature exceeded the previous June record of 35.6°C set in 1957. A rare red heat alert was issued for parts of England and Wales during the June wave. May temperatures also reached a new UK high of 35.1°C at Kew Gardens on 26 May, surpassing the prior record of 32.8°C set in 1922 and equalled in 1944.

Both heatwaves formed under stalled high-pressure systems known as heat domes, with human-induced climate change adding between 3 and 4°C to peak temperatures. " Prof Emily Shuckburgh, chief scientific adviser at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, said her father suffered a stroke during the June heat and that ambulance delays contributed to the outcome.

Bottled water stations were set up in Kent after supply disruptions during the May heat.

Heat health alerts and NHS actions are credited with cutting deaths in 2025 to roughly half the 3,039 predicted. Dr Clair Barnes of Imperial College London said that without slower global warming, heat-stress deaths will eventually exceed winter deaths.