{"id":70883,"date":"2026-06-26T09:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/70883\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T09:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:57:30","slug":"uk-heatwave-live-another-hospital-declares-critical-incident-as-temperatures-set-to-hit-40c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/70883\/","title":{"rendered":"UK heatwave live: Another hospital declares critical incident as temperatures set to hit 40C"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>What caused this heatwave?<\/p>\n

The current heatwave is driven by a \u201cheat-dome\u201d \u2013 an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat \u2013 settling over western Europe and bringing extreme conditions across the continent. <\/p>\n

Human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense.<\/p>\n

\"\"(AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 10:40<\/p>\n

<\/a>Fifth hospital declares critical incident<\/p>\n

A fifth hospital has declared a critical incident after temperatures continue to rocket in the UK<\/a>\u2019s devastating heatwave. <\/p>\n

The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital said \u201cthe extreme heat and humidity is having on our ability to deliver services\u201d. <\/p>\n

The Trust said it has implemented \u201ccontingency plans\u201d to ensure they can provide \u201cessential services safely for patients\u201d. <\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 10:25<\/p>\n

<\/a>In pictures: Morning commuters brave the heat\"\"(PA)\"\"(PA)\"\"(PA)<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 10:15<\/p>\n

<\/a>Dozens race to buy bargain air conditioning unit in Lidl as temperatures soar<\/p>\n

Huge queues<\/a> could be seen snaking outside supermarkets<\/a> on Thursday as Britons tried to get their hands on bargain air conditioning units.<\/p>\n

In a bid to keep cool, dozens of people queued across a Lidl<\/a> car park on Thursday morning in Southampton as they tried to buy \u00a3149 discounted air conditioning units.<\/p>\n

One shopper shared a video of her scrambling through Lidl in a race to get hold of an air conditioning unit only to find they had all sold out.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 10:05<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u2018Move the summer holidays\u2019: Readers on how schools should adapt to extreme heat<\/p>\n

Our community is divided on whether schools should close during heatwaves, but many agree Britain needs longer-term solutions \u2013 from adapting school buildings to rethinking term dates \u2013 as extreme temperatures become more common:<\/p>\n

As debate continues over school closures<\/a> and disruption during the heatwave<\/a>, Independent readers are divided over where responsibility should lie when extreme temperatures make classrooms uncomfortable or potentially unsafe.<\/p>\n

While some warned that shutting schools<\/a> creates major childcare challenges for working families, others argued that children<\/a>\u2019s wellbeing should take priority as the UK adapts to increasingly frequent periods of extreme heat.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 09:55<\/p>\n

<\/a>Heatwave commute: Tube passengers swelter in 40\u00b0C conditionsHeatwave commute: Tube passengers swelter in 40\u00b0C conditions<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 09:47<\/p>\n

<\/a>Full list of schools closing or shutting early as heatwave scorches<\/p>\n

Teachers have expressed concern for their students\u2019 safety during the heatwave, with many schools remaining closed amid forecasts of further extreme heat.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 09:36<\/p>\n

<\/a>Hosepipe ban map: Is my area under restrictions during record UK heatwave?<\/p>\n

South East Water<\/a> has put an official temporary hosepipe use ban in place, covering much of the Kent<\/a> region. Other areas served by the company \u2013 Surrey<\/a>, Hampshire<\/a>, Berkshire<\/a> and Sussex<\/a> (both East and West) \u2013 have also been advised to pause all use.<\/p>\n

A hosepipe ban is different to an advisory notice. Anyone caught breaching an official ban can be issued with a fine of up to \u00a31,000.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 09:14<\/p>\n

<\/a>Another tropical night as temperatures stayed above 22C<\/p>\n

Temperatures in southern areas of England and Wales did not drop below 22C all night, Met Office figures show.<\/p>\n

London at 2am was still heating up at 23C south west of London at 2am, and remained at around 25C around the south eastern coast.<\/p>\n

A tropical night is the meteorological term for an evening when the temperature does not drop below 20C. <\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 09:05<\/p>\n

<\/a>Watch: Sky glows orange as ferocious wildfire rages near GlossopSky glows orange as ferocious wildfire rages near Glossop<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2026 08:56<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What caused this heatwave? The current heatwave is driven by a \u201cheat-dome\u201d \u2013 an area of high pressure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[6855,13,11185,16534,6355,6856,150],"class_list":["post-70883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-britain","tag-bestof","tag-britain","tag-essential","tag-heat","tag-horizontal","tag-topix","tag-weather"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116815819252861583","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}