The Heat Emergency: preparing for hotter summers

Aug 24

5 min read

Preston Park, Tetbury: a sun-parched meadow. The meadow slopes into a valley with a footpath at the top of the hill and brown grasses and plants. Only some of the shrubs and trees still look green. — A parched-looking Preston Park, Tetbury, August 2026. Photo credit: Dan Fletcher.

Tetbury was issued several rare amber “extreme heat” warnings this summer, along with many other parts of the UK. Anne Cox, Trustee of Greening Tetbury, explores the impacts of soaring temperatures on our health, wildlife and how we can prepare for and respond to heatwaves as they become the new norm in the UK during summertime.

Firefighters responded to more than 950 wildfires across England and Wales so far this year, according to The National Fire Chiefs Council, including 185 in the first 10 days of August alone. Nearly three-quarters of England and the whole of Wales were in drought. Firefighters and farmers were facing impossible challenges, and NHS staff were dealing with heat-connected illness in unbearably hot hospitals. A new record of 35 extreme heat days was reached (as at 15 August 2026), beating the 34 days set in 1995, according to the Met Office.

As we faced our fifth heatwave of the summer, Andy Burnham chaired a second emergency COBR meeting on heatwaves with Ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Cabinet Office, and representatives from the Met Office, the Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency.

This “Show Your Stripes” graphic shows temperature fluctuations in Gloucestershire from 1850 to 2025 and brings it home that our temperatures have changed most significantly in the last two decades.

Heatwave Awareness and Preparedness

I recently attended a seminar on “Staying Resilient in Extreme Weather” hosted by the Communities Prepared arm of Groundwork South, a federation of charities partnered with the Environment Agency, the Community Fund, the British Red Cross, the Met Office and the VCS Emergencies Partnership.

The partnership is dedicated to changing places and lives for the better by

creating stronger, resilient neighbourhoods, promoting greener living and

business practices, and offering opportunities for children and young people

to thrive. It’s funded and backed by the UK government (through the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport), corporate donors, trusts,

foundations and public bodies.

Among those present from the South West of England were Educators;

Emergency Services; Parish Councillors and County Council Officers.

How We Perceive Hot Weather

Statistics from 2022 give an indication of the dangers we face:

Temperatures reached 40 degrees
There were over 3,000 heat-related deaths
5 million working days were lost and roads started to melt (this can happen at

temperatures above 20 degrees.)

The briefing highlighted the barriers to getting people to prepare for

heatwaves. Heatwaves are not recognised as an emergency in the way

storms are and perhaps would be taken more seriously if they were given

names. This year's figures are set to be higher than in 2022, but many still

haven’t got the message. If we get a sunny day, we see it as a chance to

head for the seaside and bask in the sun to get a tan. We don’t seem to

understand the dangers and while we don’t want to scare people, we want

to encourage them to take steps to keep themselves safe.

Climate change is happening. From 2000 - 2020 there were 84 heatwaves.

By 2050 the incidence of hot summers with heatwaves will be the norm.

Heatwaves are defined as periods longer than 3 consecutive days with

temperatures above 25 degrees, with exceptional sunshine, low or no

rainfall, increased numbers of wildfires and hose pipe bans to avoid water

shortages.

This year we’ve had several Extreme Heat Warnings. In England the Heat

Health Alert System signals:

Yellow - there’s danger to the vulnerable

Amber - everybody is at risk

Red - there’s a threat to life.

The vulnerable group doesn’t just contain people over 75 with chronic health

conditions. People with mental health conditions, the disabled, urban

dwellers, socially marginalised, homeless, isolated singles, outdoor workers,

top-floor flat residents, care home residents, the pregnant, babies and young

children, animals and pets are all vulnerable.

With amber and red warnings becoming the norm, we all need to take the dangers more seriously than we do.

What Heat-Related Hazards Could Impact Me?

Physical Effects:

Excessive heat can lead to dehydration, heatstroke, heat exhaustion and cardiovascular collapse. Air pollution is exacerbated in hot weather causing premature deaths from respiratory failure.

Food security:

We’ve all heard about the challenges farmers are facing - lower yields meaning loss of income, using up winter fodder because there’s no grass, having to cull animals they won’t be able to feed in the winter.

European farmers and growers have been experiencing similar conditions so we can’t rely on them to supplement what we can’t produce ourselves. We’re being warned of possible scarcity and no doubt higher prices to come.

We’ve had disruption of transport, and water and energy supplies are threatened in the drought.

Water Hazards:

25 deaths from drowning had been recorded by the middle of August 2026 - from submerged hazards and cold water shock.

Government Action

Our town and district councils are being required to create community emergency plans to include:

Providing warm spaces in winter and cool public spaces in summer
Procedures to check in on people at risk
Finding climate adaptation solutions like heat resistant planting, providing shaded spaces, green roofs, white walls, water features, drinking fountains and encouraging households to fit water butts.

You may be also be interested in this Joint Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Kingdom of Spain on Wildfires and Action on Climate Change:

“The UK and Spain agreed that the climate crisis is an urgent policy priority and committed to co-leading the green transition, strengthening clean energy cooperation and advancing international climate action.”

Learn more about the joint statement

Get Prepared For Heatwaves

It's plain that we need to find ways to adapt to frequent extreme weather, rising temperatures, and shifting ecosystems that disrupt daily life, health, and food security globally...and our government needs to provide a framework and support but there are things we can do as individuals to cope with the heat, keep cool and conserve water:

Keep your Home Cool

Keep your homes cool with this handy guide from The Red Cross - Red Cross Keep Your Homes Cool Advice & Tips

Saving Water:

It will be years before measures to store water can effectively reduce the dangers of water shortages in the summer and however angry we feel that water companies have failed to deal with leaks, the reality is that we, as individuals, need to take steps to conserve water.

Scottish Water has compiled an imaginative and comprehensive collection of tips to save our precious water. Water is Always Worth Saving Toolkit.

Find out how the Spanish town of Zaragoza transformed habits in a decade and reduced water use by 27%.

Smarter urban water: how Spain's Zaragoza learned to use less

Heatwaves and the Natural World

The effect on the natural world hasn’t been discussed much in the media but we can imagine how their suffering. Insects are starved, their young die, trees lose their leaves early and shed fruit prematurely, fish and other aquatic life suffer from reduced water and increased surface temperatures, burrowing creatures are starved of moisture and wildfires destroy whole ecosystems.

Find out how heatwaves are effecting wildlife and how you can help in The Woodland's Trust guide - How do heatwaves affect wildlife.