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TEMPERATURES OF 40C EXPECTED IN SPAIN; RARE WARNING FOR ‘EXTREME HEAT‘ EXPANDED ACROSS ENGLAND.

TEMPERATURES OF 40C EXPECTED IN SPAIN; RARE WARNING FOR ‘EXTREME HEAT‘ EXPANDED ACROSS ENGLAND.

By Guardian-Jakub Krupa/Peter Walker/Tobi Thomas/Aletha Adu-Thu 13 Aug 2026 14.15 BST

A former UK government scientific adviser warned amid the ‘shattering’ heat that worse is still to come.

Europe heatwave live:

People walk across a sun-scorched brown lawn on Primrose Hill during a heatwave
Primrose Hill during the heatwave in London Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with “the bigger questions” of climate adaptation.

The Royal College of Nursing said that members were left dizzy, nauseous or at risk of fainting while dripping with sweat ‘from head to toe’.
The Royal College of Nursing said that members were left dizzy, nauseous or at risk of fainting while dripping with sweat ‘from head to toe’. Photograph: sturti/Getty Images

Amid growing pressure from Labour backbenches to fully acknowledge the urgency of adaptation measures as the climate crisis bites, Burnham said he was for now focusing on the immediate crises caused by an ongoing summer of extreme heat.

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, Burnham refused to say if the summer had made the case against renewed drilling in the North Sea, which his government is considering.

“It is really important that we deal today with the situation that we are in right now and we focus on making sure that we have the serious incidents under control across the country, and those incidents are under control,” he said.

“The bigger questions obviously will come at the right moment in time,” he added.

An amber warning for heat across large parts of England will come into force again on Thursday morning, with temperatures forecast to reach 36C or potentially higher.

Train passengers on some networks are being warned by rail operators to only travel if the journey is vital, saying services are likely to be disrupted because of the weather.

13.10 BST

Ninth day of temperatures above 35C reported in England

The Met Office said that by midday temperatures had reached 36.4C at Charlwood in Surrey, while at Wisley temperatures had hit 35.1C, and a number of other spots were above 34C, including Westonbirt in Gloucestershire and Heathrow, west London, PA reported.

It makes it provisionally the ninth day in 2026 where temperatures are above 35C, the Met Office said, extending this year’s record number of days at or above 35C.

13.01 BST

Fifth heatwave of summer hits England - in pictures

A general view of London's skyline in Primrose Hill during the heatwave in London.
A general view of London's skyline in Primrose Hill during the heatwave in London. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock
A woman covers from the sun with an umbrella during a heatwave in London, Britain.
A woman covers from the sun with an umbrella during a heatwave in London, Britain. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters
Cattle on Dorney Common, Buckinghamshire in the blazing heat try to graze on non existent grass.
Cattle on Dorney Common, Buckinghamshire in the blazing heat try to graze on non existent grass. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock

12.35 BST

Meanwhile, Le Figaro is reporting that with the current heatwave extending into its 17th day, it is now the third longest period of extreme temperatures ever recorded in France.

It’s 38C in Bordeaux and Nantes, 36C in Paris, and 34C in Montpellier at the moment.

The temperatures are only expected to start falling over the weekend, it said.

12.01 BST

Amber heat warning expanded into north west England

And a rare amber warning for “extreme heat” has been expanded to cover more of England, as the UK could see the hottest day of the year so far, PA said.

The warning, already covering large part of the country, has been expanded into North West England to cover parts of Cheshire and Greater Manchester, into Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in the south-west and Shropshire and Herefordshire in the west.

11.22 BST

Even the athletes taking part in the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham are feeling the heat today…

An athlete protects herself from the sun at the European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026, in Birmingham, Britain.
An athlete protects herself from the sun at the European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026, in Birmingham, Britain. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

10.59 BST

Temperatures already reaching 30C in parts of England

Met Office has just offered an update on temperatures across the UK, with several stations already reporting temperatures above 30C – and it’s not even 11am.

It’s 30.4C in Wych Cross, 30.3C in Charlwood, 30.2C at Kenly Airfield.

10.54 BST

'Shattering' heat this summer is only a sign of things to come, former government scientific adviser warns

Damian Carrington

Damian Carrington - Environment editor

Amidst the “shattering” heat in Europe, a UK government former chief scientific adviser has warned of worse to come and how climate actions protect – not damage – economies.

People walk on parched grassland near a wildfire warning public information notice.
People walk on parched grassland near a wildfire warning public information notice. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

“The heat we are seeing today, and right through this summer, in the UK and across Europe has been shattering. This is the shape of our climate now, and we are still only in the foothills of what is to come,” says Sir David King, now chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group.

“And yet we are so often told, by parts of the media and in the softer corridors of debate, that net zero costs too much, that we should talk more about jobs and the economy and less about climate. I am here to say the two cannot be separated. Any plan for growth that does not put climate first, or at the very least on an equal footing, can only undermine the future it claims to protect.

This has to be the moment for brave leadership. More action, not less. Hold the line, do not row back. If not now, then when?”

10.27 BST

135 million people in Europe are set to experience temperatures above 35C today

More than 135 million people – particularly in France, Italy, Spain and the UK – are set to experience temperatures over 35C on Thursday as the continent’s latest heatwave intensifies, according to AFP calculations.

A tourist stands in the shade of an umbrella in the Jardin du Luxembourg, the garden of the French Senate in Paris.
A tourist stands in the shade of an umbrella in the Jardin du Luxembourg, the garden of the French Senate in Paris. Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Temperatures are set to surpass 30C for nearly three out of five European residents (excluding Turkey), amounting to around 340 million people.

That’s according to an AFP analysis based on German weather service forecasts and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre, with results consistent with the Austrian NGO Klimadashboard.

10.16 BST

Drought across Europe as extreme temperatures continue - in pictures

An aerial photograph shows a person walking over a dried up stream beside sun scorched grass at Richmond Park, south west London.
An aerial photograph shows a person walking over a dried up stream beside sun scorched grass at Richmond Park, south west London. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/AFP/Getty Images
A 'No Fishing' sign is pictured in the dried up Falmer Pond in Falmer, East Sussex, south of London.
A 'No Fishing' sign is pictured in the dried up Falmer Pond in Falmer, East Sussex, south of London. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
Birds stand on the dried-out riverbed of Danube in Rasova village, Romania.
Birds stand on the dried-out riverbed of Danube in Rasova village, Romania. Photograph: Daniel Mihăilescu/AFP/Getty Images
Trucks pass a bridge over the Vistula river just outside the Polish capital, Warsaw.
Trucks pass a bridge over the Vistula river just outside the Polish capital, Warsaw. Photograph: Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images
The Loire River has reached unusually low water levels between Blois and Amboise, central France.
The Loire River has reached unusually low water levels between Blois and Amboise, central France. Photograph: Patrick Siccoli/SIPA/Shutterstock