An amber weather warning for “extreme heat” will come into force on Thursday morning as the UK faces the prospect of the summer’s hottest day so far.Britons have been urged to keep out of the sun during peak hours as a blistering heatwave brings temperature highs of 37C to the country on Thursday.The Met Office has issued an amber extreme heat warning for much of England, covering parts of the south and east, as well as swathes of the Midlands.The warning highlights likely health impacts from the heat, as well as potential water safety incidents, travel disruption and power cuts in some places.Dr Michael Gregory, regional medical director for NHS England in the North West, urged the public to take precautions and avoid becoming seriously unwell from overheating, dehydration, heat exhaustion or heatstroke.“Staying out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, from 11am to 3pm, can lower the risk of becoming unwell, he said.“If you are planning physical activity, such as exercising or walking the dog, try to do this during cooler parts of the day, such as the morning or evening.”Some rail operators are also urging train passengers to only travel if necessary on Thursday as services will be disrupted because of hot weather.Most of England is now under amber heat health alerts – here’s what that meansThe UK Health Security Agency has issued amber heat health alerts across much of England as Britons brace for the fifth heatwave of the year.It comes as nearly three-quarters of England is in drought, with the National Drought Group warning that conditions will worsen should there not be "significant and sustained rainfall".You can read more about what these alerts mean and how to stay safe below:Nicole Wootton-Cane13 August 2026 08:45Minister insists government is doing more than stopping disposable barbecue sales to tackle wildfiresThe government is doing more to stop wildfires than just requesting shops to stop selling disposable barbecues, Baroness Jacqui Smith has said.Speaking to LBC, the skills minister insisted “quite a lot more” came out of an emergency Cobra committee meeting chaired by prime minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday.She said: “(There is) additional funding for firefighters with equipment and training to help with some of the wildfires that we’ve seen. We’ve already invested in new reservoirs, for example, to help to protect our water supply.”Lady Smith added that the government was investing in nine new reservoirs and is working with farmers to help with irrigation issues.She added: “I think it is fair enough for the prime minister to highlight that all of us have got a responsibility in these really sort of quite difficult, hot times to look after our neighbours, to make sure that you know, we’re keeping our homes cool, and there’s advice about how to do that, and frankly, not having fires or using disposable barbecues where that might be setting fire to things.”Baroness Jacqui Smith (PA) (PA Wire)Nicole Wootton-Cane13 August 2026 08:34When are weather warnings coming into force and where is covered?The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat covering much of London, the Midlands, and parts of the North.The warning comes into force at 9am on Thursday, with forecasters urging people to keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm.You can see the full affected area in the map below:An amber weather warning is in place (Met Office)Nicole Wootton-Cane13 August 2026 08:20Heatwaves causing nurses to have seizures as hospital temperatures top 30CNurses are collapsing on shift while treating patients in conditions exceeding 30C, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned.With the UK on track for its warmest summer on record, nursing staff have suffered seizures and described "dripping with sweat from head to toe" while working.Concerns have also been raised over patient welfare, with some hospitals described as "unbearably hot" and "not fit for humans".RCN chief executive and general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said: “When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed.”You can read more below:Nicole Wootton-Cane13 August 2026 08:10Train passengers urged to 'only travel if necessary' as temperatures soarTrain passengers are being urged to only travel if necessary by some operators today as services will be disrupted because of hot weather.Chiltern Railways and East Midlands Railway issued alerts to “only travel if essential”.Other operators will either run a reduced timetable or are warning about the potential for short-notice cancellations.Northern said it will run fewer trains than normal on some routes in the North West and Yorkshire on Thursday because of the extreme heat.It told passengers that high temperatures “increase the risk of issues on the railway and with the reliability of our trains”, which means it must make adjustments to its usual timetable “to keep trains running”.Heat-related issues that can affect the railway include buckled rails, sagging overhead electric wires and lineside fires.Steel rails can exceed 50C when the air temperature is 30C.Some ticket restrictions have been eased, and passengers are being asked to check for travel updates before setting off, as well as carry water with them to stay hydrated.Chiltern Railways said temperatures are expected to reach highs of 38C on parts of its network on Thursday.It will operate a reduce timetable between 11am and 8pm.Joe Middleton13 August 2026 07:53What has the Met Office said?Forecaster Alex Burkill commented: “Temperatures (in areas covered by the amber warning) could reach highs of around 36, 37, possibly 38C.“Now when you get these sorts of high temperatures, well that’s when we could see impacts to our infrastructure, our railway lines, our roads, they are not designed for this sort of heat.“And more people are likely to be impacted by how hot it is with regards to their health.”Joe Middleton13 August 2026 07:31UK could see hottest day of the year so far as temperatures set to hit 38CThe UK could see its hottest day of the year so far as parts of England may hit 38C during the peak of the fifth heatwave of the summer.Rare amber “extreme heat” warnings have been issued by the Met Office for London and parts of the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands and South Yorkshire from 9am to midnight on Thursday.It comes after prime minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Wednesday in response to the prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather.Joe Middleton13 August 2026 07:25UK to be hotter than Athens on ThursdayTemperatures are expected to soar to 37C in parts of England on Thursday as a fresh heatwave sweeps across the country bringing drought, wildfires and urgent health warnings.Following persistent hot and dry weather this week, swathes of southern England can expect weather warmer than in the sunny Greek capital of Athens, which is forecast to see highs of 33C.Temperature highs will peak across Oxfordshire and the Chilterns on Thursday afternoon before cloudy weather brings some relief on Friday. An amber extreme heat warning has been issued, covering part of London.Alex Ross13 August 2026 07:00Editorial: Forget the credit crunch, we are now in the climate crunchWe are now heading into the fifth heatwave of the summer. As the weathermen said in the old tabloid cliché, there’s more to come, namely a sustained crisis of food production and supply, aided and abetted by the spread of fires across Britain’s wild places.The prospect is that we will have more of the same next year and the year after. Despite all the public policy blather about resilience, neither the government nor we seem to have much clue what to do. The prime minister’s scheduled Cobra meeting on extreme heat amid warnings of a wildfire “national emergency” shows how serious a nadir we have reached.Maryam Zakir-Hussain13 August 2026 06:00Southern Water applies for rare drought orderSouthern Water has applied for a rare drought order which would ban businesses from non-essential water use, including cleaning cars and filling non-domestic swimming pools, saying an “exceptional” lack of rain has threatened supplies in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.It warned that 165,000 people in the Southampton West supply area could face restricted supplies.Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.The Environment Agency said 71.3 per cent of England is now experiencing “flash drought”, as a dry start to August followed the country’s driest July on record.Maryam Zakir-Hussain13 August 2026 05:00