UK heatwave eases as cooler, more changeable weather moves in

The Met Office said much of the UK will be dry at first with sunny spells as the latest hot spell gives way to cooler, more changeable summer weather. Northern and northwestern areas are expected to stay cloudier with occasional patchy rain or drizzle, while the weekend and the start of next week bring signs of a more unsettled spell with rain at times, especially in northern parts of the UK.

The break in temperature will not end the pressure created by weeks of heat and dryness. A government dry-weather and drought report for England covering 18 to 26 June landed against an already stretched landscape, and the longer dry spell continues to raise concerns for water supplies, agriculture and wildfire risk even as the air feels less extreme.

The heat that is easing has already rewritten parts of the UK’s weather record. BBC Weather said places in southern England had logged 13 consecutive days above heatwave criteria, while Merryfield in Somerset reached 30.6C on Thursday. The UK also recorded 12 straight days at or above 30C, the longest such run since 2006.

The Met Office said temperatures of 35C or higher had now been recorded in May, June and July of the same year for the first time in the UK weather record, and many areas were experiencing their third heatwave of the year. Its summer assessment described 2026 as extraordinary, with three distinct heatwaves, frequent mid-30s temperatures and contrasts from north to south.

Public health officials have kept alerts in place as the heat persisted. The UK Health Security Agency issued amber and yellow heat health alerts, signalling that significant impacts are likely. Those warnings matter even when the thermometer starts to fall, because the effects of prolonged heat can linger in hospitals, care settings, workplaces and homes that have already been pushed hard by the season.

The forecast now points to a shift away from the sharpest heat, but not from the dry conditions that have built up underneath it. Rain may return in parts of the UK, yet the longer story remains one of heat stress colliding with drought, with the consequences felt far beyond the hottest afternoons.