Yellow health alert issued - as England records hottest June on record

A yellow heat health alert has been issued for large parts of the UK later this week - as the Met Office said it was provisionally the hottest June on record in England.

The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), covers the East Midlands, east, southeast and southwest England, including London, from 12pm on Saturday until 5pm on Wednesday.

The agency said that minor impacts were likely across health and social care services because of the high temperatures, including increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people and a greater risk to life for that group.

It also warned of a potential rise in water-related incidents, including risks from cold water shock and drowning. At least seven people died in water-related incidents during the recent heatwave, following on from 15 in May.

The new alert comes after a record-breaking heatwave last week, during which a rare red warning for extreme heat was issued by the Met Office for parts of the country and red heat health alerts were also put in place.

The UK set a provisional June temperature record of 37.7C on Friday in Lingwood in Norfolk, the Met Office said, topping the previous UK June record of 35.6C from 1976 by more than 2C. Such records have generally been broken by just a fraction of a degree in the past.

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Met Office figures for the month of June show the average temperature in England was 17.1C, beating the previous record of 16.9C set last year.

The mean temperature across the UK was 15.6C, trailing only the 15.8C average set in 2023.

England's top three warmest Junes since data began in 1884 have all been in this decade, with 2026 at number one, then 2025, followed by 2023's 16.7C average.

On the conditions we can expect in the coming week, Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "It will become very warm or even hot over the weekend in the south, especially the south east, with temperatures reaching the low thirties early next week.

"Heatwave conditions are likely there, but we are currently not expecting a return to the exceptional heat and high humidity seen last week."

She said it will be "more of a typical hot summer spell", but noted there is "some uncertainty" on how long the heat will last and if it will build later next week.

The heatwave across Europe, which started on 20 June, set records for early summer and the scorching conditions disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and pushed healthcare systems to their limits.

France reported around 1,000 excess deaths during the heatwave. Germany, ‌Denmark and the Czech Republic also saw all-time temperature records broken.

The French public health agency said most of the heat-related deaths involved older people and warned the number was expected to rise.

Meanwhile, Spain recorded 1,029 excess deaths last month ​attributable to heat, official data showed on Wednesday.

A five-day heatwave with temperatures exceeding 40C made it the second-hottest June on record after 2025.

In Europe, temperatures are set to soar again from Sunday, said Luca Mercalli, the president of Italy's Meteorological Society.

"The areas affected look broadly the same as in the first wave, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and
to some ⁠extent Britain," Mercalli said.

(c) Sky News 2026: Yellow health alert issued - as England records hottest June on record