An amber health alert has been issued for the south of England as a second hosepipe ban is set to hit one million Brits.
The mercury is expected to rocket to 32C today in parts of central and southern England on Friday with the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West under amber alert.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) upgraded their previously yellow heat health warning to amber ones in these areas today with the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber to be covered by a yellow heat health alert from midday.
Their website warns rising temperatures will have ‘significant impacts’ including ‘a rise in deaths’ particularly among those aged 65 and above or with health conditions.
The UKSHA predict a ‘increased demand on all health and social care services’ and that the heat will have an impact on ‘the ability of the workforce to deliver services’.
The alert comes into effect at 12pm on Friday and will continue until 9am on Monday, following two other amber alerts issued in consecutive weeks at the end of June amid two separate heatwaves.
The alert for the first heatwave on June 19 was the first time an amber alert had been issued since September 2023.
It comes as a second hosepipe ban has been introduced in Kent and Sussex with thousands of customers in Yorkshire already restricting their water usage.
A spectator fans themselves during day 11 of Wimbledon in London
Experts predict the heat will have an impact on ‘the ability of the workforce to deliver services’
A man sunbaths in St James’s Park in London as the mercury is set to hit 32C
Those supplied by South East Water will not be able to use their hosepipes for any reason from July 18.
The company said the region has endured its driest spring since 1893 and has had to supply up to 680million litres of water in 24 hours as temperatures soar, adding: ‘This situation has left us with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers, so we can help our reservoirs and underground water storage recover.’
South East Water added that it will prosecute those who disobey the ban by slapping them with fines of up to £1,000.
Meanwhile, a hosepipe ban begins today in Yorkshire as the third heatwave of the summer heads towards temperatures of 33C.
Yorkshire Water has placed a ban on using hosepipes for activities such as watering the garden, cleaning cars and filling paddling pools in an attempt to protect water supplies in the face of yet more dry weather.
Similar to its southern counterpart, it means customers are banned from using a hosepipe to water gardens and plants, clean vehicles, fill swimming pools or ponds or clean paths, walls or windows.
Customers flouting the ban could face fines of up to £1,000, but the company has said ‘we hope it won’t come to that’ as it urged households to help conserve water by sticking to the restrictions.
The new ban, which will affect more than 5.7million homes in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire, comes after 80 firefighters were called to tackle a grass fire yesterday in Rainham, Kent.
London Fire Brigade said about ten hectares of grass and shrubland were destroyed in the blaze on Rainham Road, the cause of which is being investigated.
As the country prepares for the very warm weather, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has urged families to put safety first.
The RNLI urged people to visit a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flag, to check the weather forecast and tide times, and to read local hazard signage to understand local risks.
In agreement, the Health and Safety Executive added that the people most at risk during hot weather include babies, young children, people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions, including heart and breathing problems as well as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Those who spend a lot of time outside or in hot places – such as those who work outdoors or the homeless – are also at high risk.
Their advice for staying cool indoors is to turn off the lights, close windows that face the sun and open them only at night when temperatures drop.
While outdoors, people should stay in the shade and regularly apply a UVA and UVB water-resistant sunscreen to skin that is not covered. Factor 30-plus should be used for adults while 50-plus should be applied on children.
People are also advised to drink plenty of fluids. Water or oral rehydration sachets are considered the best option.
Depleted water levels at Baitings Reservoir in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, yesterday
A man uses a hosepipe to clean a carpet in the street in Leeds yesterday, on the eve of the ban
People sit on the dried up bed of Baitings Reservoir in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, yesterday
While residents in Yorkshire and Sussex are being encouraged to conserve water, exceptions include using hosepipes to clean animals and fill drinking troughs.
People can still wash their car and water their gardens using tap water from a bucket or watering can, while businesses will be allowed to use a hosepipe if it is directly related to an essential commercial purpose – but not for other uses such as cleaning paths outside a business property.
And they’re not the only ones, with Thames Water revealing this week that it would impose a hosepipe ban after ‘ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand’ unless the situation ‘changes significantly’.
The forecast for the coming days suggests temperatures could reach 32C in parts of central and southern England on Friday and are expected to remain high into the weekend, with a yellow heat health alert in place for all regions in England until July 15.
The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency, warns of the potential for a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over, or with health conditions, because of the heat.
In Birmingham the body of a teenage boy was found in a lake yesterday after a huge search operation in a popular water park.
Emergency services descended on Powell’s Pool, a large body of water on the edge of the park near the Boldmere area of Sutton Coldfield at around 9pm following reports a boy had gone missing.
Boat crews were seen on the water and the emergency services continued to work after dark, using torches to search the pool.
80 firefighters were called to tackle a grass fire on Rainham Road in Rainham, Kent, yesterday
London Fire Brigade said about ten hectares of grass and shrubland were destroyed in Rainham
A man walks through a parched Greenwich Park in South East London yesterday
West Midlands Police are supporting the family of the boy and were not treating the death as suspicious after people flocked to Sutton Park to try and escape the heat.
Possible highs of 33C on Saturday mean the third heatwave will fall short of the top temperatures recorded earlier in July, but will be more widespread, Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said.
‘For the next three days or so, high pressure is in charge across the UK, bringing in relatively settled conditions,’ Mr Snell said
‘For most of the UK, it will be dry, sunny and warm. The temperatures will probably peak either Friday or Saturday, with highs potentially of 32C or 33C.
‘As we go into Sunday, the eastern half of the UK might start to just cool down a tad. It’s still going to be very warm, but could jump down a degree or two.
‘In the second half of the weekend some coastal areas, like the North Sea coast, may turn a little bit murky at times, but the weekend is generally hot and sunny for most parts of the country.
‘That will obviously come with very high UV levels for most of us and also very high grass pollen levels, so not great news for hayfever sufferers.’
The 35.8C (78.4F) at Faversham in Kent on July 1 during the second heatwave of 2025 was the UK’s hottest day in three years.
A man sunbathes at Greenwich Park in London yesterday during the third heatwave of summer
An aerial view of dry fields in York yesterday before the hosepipe ban is introduced
A man sunbathes at Greenwich Park in London yesterday during the third heatwave of summer
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has urged people to drink water regularly, seek shade and use sunscreen.
Steve Cole, policy director at RoSPA, said: ‘Heat is no longer just a holiday perk, it’s a growing public health risk.
‘We’re seeing more frequent and intense heatwaves, both in the UK and globally, and the data shows a clear rise in heat-related illness and fatalities.’
Temperatures will fall slightly by Monday, with highs of 28C expected in London and ‘fresher’ conditions in the north of England, with highs between 20C and 24C.
Rain could come in ‘showers and thunderstorms’, Mr Snell said, most likely in northern England.
The rain would be a relief for water companies after reservoir levels fell at nearly three-quarters of sites during June and are below average in all regions, with storage at four sites classed as ‘exceptionally low’.
These are Blagdon in Somerset (62 per cent), Blithfield in Staffordshire (59 per cent), Derwent Valley in Derbyshire (58 per cent) and Yorkshire Supply Group (55 per cent).
The Environment Agency has also declared a state of ‘prolonged dry weather’ in large parts of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey – meaning a heightened risk of drought.
Thames Water said daily demand in Swindon and Oxfordshire peaked during the UK’s last heatwave on June 30 at a level not seen since in the 2022 drought.
People are being encouraged to take shorter showers, turn the tap off while brushing teeth and letting their lawn go dry to help reduce big increases in demand.
Water bosses also warned that the extended warm weather was bringing ‘increased risks of leaks and bursts due to pipe stress and shifting foundations in the ground’.
