UK heatwave to continue as record 35C temperatures hit summer months

A cooler weekend will not end Britain’s heatwave. The Met Office said heatwave conditions are continuing through the weekend and into next week, and its Friday, July 10 update said temperatures of 35C or higher have now been recorded in May, June and July of the same year for the first time in the UK weather record.

In Sheffield, the official forecast points to a brief easing rather than real relief. The city is set for 26C on Sunday, July 12, 25C on Monday, July 13, 27C on Tuesday, July 14, and 28C on Wednesday and Thursday, July 15 and 16. Across Yorkshire & Humber, the same update put Sheffield at 27C, Doncaster at 32C, Leeds at 27C and Northallerton at 30C, showing how sharply the heat is still varying across the region.

The Sheffield Press said Britain is in its third heatwave of 2026, driven by high pressure and made more oppressive by humidity and warm nights. That combination matters even when daytime temperatures dip: if homes and workplaces do not cool overnight, heat builds across several days and gives people less chance to recover. The paper also reported amber heat-health alerts already in force across much of England as temperatures were forecast to reach 34C to 35C in places.

The strain has already shown up in Sheffield. Local reporting said the city was expected to reach around 30C by 5pm on Wednesday, July 8, only two weeks after the hottest June day on record. That kind of whiplash leaves household routines, travel plans and outdoor work stuck in a stop-start pattern, with cooler days followed by showers and then the possibility of heat returning just as quickly.

The risks do not disappear because the thermometer falls a little. Warm nights and sticky humidity make it harder for people to sleep, for commuters to move through crowded stations and buses, and for workers exposed to the sun to keep going through the day. With the Met Office still flagging heatwave conditions into next week, the greater danger is not one blistering afternoon but the accumulation of heat across several more days.