Temperatures could reach 35C in the South East

Temperatures in south-east England could hit 35C (95F) in what is expected to be the peak of the most recent heatwave.

The Met Office predicted there would be highs of 34C (93F) in Maidstone in Kent, Crawley in West Sussex and Uckfield in East Sussex, and highs of 35C (95F) in Epsom in Surrey on Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to reach 38C (100F) in parts of England. The last time temperatures above 36C (97F) were recorded in England was in August 2020.

Vikki Lewis, from South East Coast Ambulance Service, said: "We've seen an increase in people reporting the heat exhaustion signs, feeling faint. We've seen collapses and this has created an increase in demand for our service."

Matt Gamblen, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service's wildfires tactical advisor, has urged people to take extra care to prevent fires during the hot weather, including by not leaving a vehicle engine running while parked on grass.

"Firefighters are really busy at the moment, we're getting multiple calls," he told BBC Radio Sussex.

"We've had over 1,000 calls in the UK now nationally that are for wildfires.

"That's on top of just our normal fires in the open [and] smaller fire activity as well, so it's been a really busy time for our firefighters across the UK."

By 11:00 BST on Thursday morning, temperatures had already reached 30C at Charlwood and Kenley in Surrey, and Herstmonceux in East Sussex, BBC Weather presenter Darren Bett said.

It marks 38 days in a row that the temperature have hit 30C in the UK this year - the previous record was 34, set in 1995, he says.

There is an amber warning in place for extreme heat between 09:00 BST and 23:59 on Thursday for a large area between Sheffield and London that includes Birmingham, Oxford and Peterborough.

The weather has also led to a lot of the country being declared as being officially in a drought, including all of the South East.

Adam Letts, a keeper at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury in Kent, says the western lowland gorillas at the site have been enjoying a dip in their splash pool and keeping cool with frozen fruit.

Courtney Mansfield, the site's head of elephants, said the animals she cared for were used to this level of heat and explained they could drink up to 200 litres (44 gallons) of water every day.

Keeper April Hall said the park's European grey wolves were not so comfortable with the heat, so would often find shade or paddle in their stream.

"They also enjoy the blood lollies we give them which are made up of the frozen blood of the meat we give them," she added.

The Met Office says 2026's summer is on course to be the UK's hottest since records began, with only average conditions needed for the rest of August to surpass the record, which was set in 2025.

Prof Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said the heatwave in 1976 was a "once in a generation" summer, but "now that kind of summer is happening much more frequently."

Bentley explained the country was "moving into a new norm with warmer, wetter winters, and hotter, drier summers."

She has urged people to stay in the shade as the heat in the direct sunlight could reach 60C (140F).

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