UK Heatwave Continues with High Wildfire Risk and Water Restrictions

Natural England’s fire severity index places large parts of the UK at exceptional wildfire risk by the middle of the week, with most of the rest of England and Wales rated very high risk over the coming days. The assessment draws on wind speed, temperature, time of year and rainfall.

The Met Office stated that current heatwave conditions will continue into the coming week, keeping most areas dry, sunny and very hot.

Dave Swallow, National Fire Chiefs Council wildfire deputy lead, said the conditions increase wildfire risk. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to two moorland wildfires in recent days. London Fire Brigade dealt with a shrubbery blaze at Stratford Station on Friday evening that caused rail line closures.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service attended a large fire in the open on the South Downs near Eastbourne on Saturday, and teams tackled a blaze at Devil’s Dyke in South Downs National Park, West Sussex. Hundreds of firefighters battled a wildfire in Almeria province, Spain, that killed at least 12 people. Regional authorities said four of the victims are believed to be British.

The Met Office warned of possible thunderstorms from Monday in parts of southern England, though overall another very dry week is expected. Amber and yellow heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency remain in place across large parts of England until 9pm Wednesday.

The Met Office recorded 2026 as the first year with 35C temperatures on six separate days, exceeding the previous record of five days set in 1976 and 2020.

It is also the first year with 35C or higher temperatures in three calendar months and the first with nine temperatures of 34C or higher this summer. An 18-year-old man’s body was recovered from the water near the weir at Darley Abbey Mills in Derbyshire. An 18-year-old male died at Dovestone Reservoir in Oldham on Friday.