England is cooking. And not in a fun, summer BBQ kind of way. We are staring down one of the longest heatwaves since 1972, maybe even rivaling the historic bake of 1976 if we get lucky with the persistence.
Amber alerts cover the Midlands, the east, and the south until 9 pm on July 12. The north gets the lesser yellow warning. Same timeframe.
“Temperatures could hit 35C.”
That’s 97F. For real. Down south at least. Meanwhile, you might be chilling in the mid-20Cs up in the north. A distinct geographic divide. One part of the country is sweating through shirts, the other is just mildly inconvenienced.
Here’s the problem. People die in heat. Especially over 65. Especially if your heart isn’t great. The Health Security Agency isn’t pulling punches—health and social care services are bracing for impact. We are looking at a rise in deaths. It’s a blunt fact. No sugar coating it.
We hit heatwave status on Monday in the south and east after three days above the threshold. Tuesday wasn’t much better, with Teddington and Kent both peaking at 32.4°C. Wednesday saw Heathrow climb to 33.7°C.
Where do we go from here?
Hotter. The coming days bring a shot of 34°C to 35°C to southern England. The heat pushes north and west by Friday, taking Northern Ireland and Scotland with it. They won’t get the 30s, though—expect high 20s. Is that better? Debatable. It’s still sweltering when you’re not built for it.
Pressure shifts midweek. An easterly wind kicks in. Temperatures in the east dip slightly, but “slightly” is a small comfort when the baseline is already unbearable. The main heat engine moves west. Central southern England. South Wales could hit 33°C on Friday.
It doesn’t really stop. Just shifts. And everyone is too hot to care.
