Heat Alert Issued by UK Met Office

I’m in Southern Ireland right now.
Yesterday it started to get hot, today was 24 and humid , tomorrow is meant to be 28+.
Not enjoying it, but I don’t like heat at home either!
Supposed to cool off and some rain by Friday.
Hotels have ac and fans though.🙂

Not actually that bad in London tonight. Had a little shower of rain move through this evening. We'll see what tomorrow brings when the sun comes up. Forecast to be scorchio!

https://youtu.be/WhxibgFStIQ?si=pPCTMNmc1IIBXqMt

edit: I am revising my verdict on it being "not actually that bad". It's 80% humidity and 70F at nearly midnight after the rain.

A huge thunderstorm battered London last night. Woke me up at about 3am. Torrential rain and thunder that made the windows rattle for two solid hours. It was the biggest I've seen for years. There's been quite a bit of disruption to public transport this morning, including the Elizabeth Line out at Heathrow.

https://tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status/

GerryM - lordie was that storm apocalyptic! A friend who manages our local said he accidentally left his windows open and his flat floor flooded.

Also heard from others who said they had incursions of rain through their roof and outside fixtures. It was WILD. So much thunder, and searing lightning.

Alas, coolness did not follow in its wake.

For anyone in town right now - head to a park and get in the shade. Get as close to the Thames as you can - it’s cooler and breezier by the water.

And for a blast of arctic freeze? 🥶 Try a Tesco! Most of them are super chilled.

Or visit one of the Lidos in London

lordie was that storm apocalyptic! A friend who manages our local said he accidentally left his windows open and his flat floor flooded.

It was wild! I had a bit of a leak at the flue for my central heating boiler I had to put towels and a basin under. I had to check the drains outside my doors were coping as I'm in a basement flat. I don't think I've ever seen a storm so intense right on top for such a prolonged period.

I'm lucky I'm in a basement flat in such an old building. Temperatures indoors remain bearable with just my old desk fan. I've just had some Hagen Dazs in the garden and settling down to watch the England game now. 83F (28C) at 9pm.

Or visit one of the Lidos in London

I'm sure London Fields Lido will be busy from opening tomorrow. I can imagine lots of people having that idea Stuart! The swimming ponds at Hampstead Heath will be a big draw too.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LsRPcMW6hxba4U216 - London Fields Lido on Google Maps

https://www.hampsteadheath.net/swimming-ponds

That thunderstorm was insane- woken up in the middle of the night thinking the world was ending, I've never heard thunder that loud!

This is a good time to remind people of which tube lines are air conditioned: Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City, District, and the Elizabeth Line.

Glad everyone stayed dry last night!

I’m reading this thread from a hotel room overlooking the harbour in Oban - it’s a very pleasant 16 degrees here now. We’re heading out to Barra tomorrow for me to cycle the Hebridean Way starting Thursday. Forecast for Thursday 14 degrees and heavy rain!

We just realised that usually we would be at Glastonbury festival now - that would have been unbearable this week in the current temperatures.

yesterday morning early, about 7:30 Central European Time, 6:30 in the UK, I was driving from Ghent to the Channel Tunnel to return home after a couple of weeks in Germany. I got a notification about severe storms in southeastern England with flooding, etc.

I did have pretty heavy rain in Belgium, but miraculously just as we approached the French border near Dunkirk the rain stopped and bits of blue sky poked out. Relief! I hate having to work out if there is sufficient rain to trigger the French 20 kph speed restriction on the autoroutes. I really never know, and I don't know if the radars know it is raining.

After a slowdown at French border control and then just 2 (2!!) windows open at UK border control and an hour delay on Le Shuttle, we got to Folkestone about 11:00 UK time. I wanted to avoid the tunnels at the Dartford crossing of the Thames estuary so went the long way around on M26 and M25, to the M1. Lucky me.

All the time I was looking all around for the destruction or evidence of flooding - nothing. Nary a single drop on the roads. Nothing even looked like it had been wet. The ground was so hot and baked, as well as the manmade surfaces it must have instantly evaporated.

Sorry you all had such a night of it.

I grew up without AC until one day Grandpa converted one window to allow for a window unit. He said, "Why didn't I do this before?"

It was like heaven.

I heard on the news that many in the UK were required to stop using their air conditioners???!!

I read this on the internet.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/air-conditioning-torn-from-homes-under-net-zero-clampdown/

Unbelievable

I read this on the internet.

Air conditioning has become a front in the battles that constitute the culture wars this last couple of weeks. I can't read the linked article, but The Telegraph is very much on one side in that war. Take with a pinch of salt. If you'll share a free to read link I'll probably be able to debunk it a bit more satisfactorily. I've managed to glean the gist of it from other sources.

look at the source. Not all news is completely unbiased or necessarily accurate

the Telegraph, the Tory and far right mouthpiece, has an ax to grind.

Gerry is absolutely right. I've not heard anything about people being required to stop using their air conditioners. This story already sounds suspicious as air conditioning in residential buildings is extremely rare here. Speaking for myself, I do not have it nor do I want it, I am very happy with a fan and some open windows. If weeks of 35C temperatures become a regular thing here I may reconsider. But my main point is- not having air conditioning is my choice, rather than something imposed by the government.

Without seeing the Telegraph article, I think the story is based around one individual being required to remove their air conditioning unit from the front of a building in a designated conservation area. They should have secured planning permission for it before installing, but didn't, hence the council saw fit to remove it. I believe the Telegraph has sought to play it up to make it a net zero and climate change story in line with their stance of denying climate change and opposing net zero.

GB News also picked up the story if anyone would like to Google it, but I'm loathe to link to anything they report here.

eta: GB News is reporting it slightly differently now I read it in full, but still, a piece with a climate-denying, anti- net zero editorial slant that you can make of as you will.

The Telegraph, figures. Seen in another source and it was doing all sorts to blame net zero policies. The reality is the AC units that have been removed have been removed because they were in buildings where planning permission for whatever reason is needed to make the alteration. This may be for conservation status, likely in a London borough, or the size of the unit. Planning permission had not been obtained. For AC there is an element of power usage, to ensure the local grid does not get overloaded.

You might enjoy this explainer from Australia's ABC of why these temperatures mid 20s and early 30s C are hot in the UK and not Australia.

We pay 4 times as much for domestic electricity here compared to the US. Most people wouldn’t pay to run an AC unit even if they had one.

Here is an article I found that seems to speak to the status of a/c use. I have no knowledge of the 'pedigree' of the organization

https://www.gbnews.com/news/air-conditioning-heatwave-remove-40c-net-zero

Here is an article I found that seems to speak to the status of a/c use.

Yes, that's the GB News article that's a straight lift from The Telegraph's story that I declined to link to in my post further up. Not just garbage, but second hand garbage.

I know of a man called Donald and he says that global warming is a load of rubbish and that we should burn oil, coal and gas.

I know of a another man called Ed and he says that Britain needs to have net zero carbon emissions and that we need to cover good farmland with solar panels and have wind turbines on the hills and off the coasts.

Meanwhile - new houses go up in Britain and no consideration seems to be made to aligning them in order to have a south facing roof for insertion of solar panels.

PS. Presumably the GB News and Telegraph haters all read the Guardian or Mirror? Goodness knows why we just can’t have media that report the news without any bias towards political parties?

Nixon and Trump became Presidents mainly because of AC.

(I could elucidate but it’s too hot. Google demographics, Florida, Republicans and AC for the full story).

The Telegraph was once a respected paper it isn't any more. GBNews has never been a respected source.

This is a government response to the ban story which I think seems pretty reasonable.
https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/25/air-conditioning-rules/

I've never bought a Telegraph, but I used to enjoy the quality of their reporting years ago when I'd read one at work occasionally. That was long before they went down the road of churning out the populist, lowest common denominator mince that they do now. This story is a good example, from what I can determine from GBNews' plagiarism.

James, you raise some interesting points but we're probably straying a bit too far from the purpose of this forum to get into a long-winded discussion of them.

Yes, I do read The Guardian and have done off and on since I was twelve years old. I spent the best part of twenty years working on Mirror Group Newspapers titles, including The Daily and Sunday Mirror's Scottish editions, but I've never been a Mirror reader as such. I'd be happy to point out the shortcomings of reporting of the quality found in the linked articles if any of those titles were to publish it.

The Telegraph really changed under the Barclay brothers ownership and their shenigans on Sark where they effectively were trying to seize power from the seigneur should have rung alarm bells. The paper had been a bit fuddy duddy and conservative before hand, but still a paper of record. Now it is very much the in house journal of a certain section of British right wing politics and facts be damned.

GBNews is an attempt by people on the right of British politics and fossil fuel money to establish a UK Fox News.

For those interested in reading the Telegraph article in question it can be found here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/fa6e381c6f97e6d3

Yes I read the Telegraph so I guess that makes me one of those nasty Tories 🥱

What about this article on removing AC
https://www.gbnews.com/news/air-conditioning-heatwave-remove-40c-net-zero

Geovagriffith that link is the same one from the GBnews website that we have previously been discussing.

Regardless of politics GBNews is not a source to rely on for balanced news reporting. It has been investigated by OFCOM on a number of occasions and to be honest I don’t know how they continue to get away with it.

The Telegraph was the paper we had when I was growing up, the choice of my dad the least Tory person you could ever meet. But at that time it was an informative and respected read with perhaps more importantly a decent crossword. I have a huge affection for the paper but no respect for it now.

JC if ‘nasty Tory’ is how you choose to identify, thank you for your honesty ;-)

What is important to grasp here is that the premises in question were in a conservation area, so subject to strict planning rules. The occupants either hadn't applied for planning consent (or maybe had done so retrospectively), or had failed to comply with the planning that had been granted.
Exactly the same outcome would have resulted if they had installed PVC windows, or modern roof tiles- as two examples, or even painted the house the wrong colour in some Conservation areas.

What proper journalism would have done is to establish the address- all documents (a full paper trail) will be on the website of the local council concerned- probably a huge amount of documentation. Warnings will have been issued beforehand by the local Planning Department- and presumably ignored. Before even being approved the plans will have been out to public consultation. Enforcement action will have had to have been agreed by the Planning Committee of the local council, very likely full council.

But let's not be silly, and be interested in facts.

I'm involved with a group that delivers window AC units and fans to the elderly and infirm. It's truly a life-saving mission as temperatures can reach to near 100F anytime from late May through early September in Virginia and West Virginia. It's 75F now but by Thursday near 100F. Really, once temps hit around 90F it's a health and life issue. On occasion we have to convert one window but it's not a big deal. Took me and a sort-of carpenter two hours and we had to follow Youtube videos lol.

So it's only one AC unit for one room to save on electricity. I mean, better than having a health emergency, plus there's government assistance for those truly in need.

The Virginia Energy Assistance Program and West Virginia's Emergency Low Income Energy Assistance Program to help low income households with electricity, gas, and water bills.

I posted a report from MSN that's quoting Climate people that this is the "new normal", over in the Germany/AC thread. It also mentions (a location in) France was two degrees away from Death Valley California. I'd post the link here but RS doesn't like duplicate posts.

the less obvious problem with GB News and the Telegraph, and a lot of the rest of UK media is that it is London based and if not biased, at least out of touch with what happens further away. Whilst this hysteria was panning out in London the far north of England was less extreme, and in Scotland the weather went downhill rapidly - on Friday evening I put the heating on for a while in my hotel room !

Yes, I see what you mean. "Weather In Crewe Around Average For Time of Year" would have been a much better headline to lead with.

he less obvious problem with GB News and the Telegraph, and a lot of the rest of UK media is that it is London based and if not biased, at least out of touch with what happens further away. Whilst this hysteria was panning out in London the far north of England was less extreme, and in Scotland the weather went downhill rapidly - on Friday evening I put the heating on for a while in my hotel room !

I am sure everybody posting here UK based has experienced the 'if it was not bad enough or outside the M25 it did not happen' from the British media.

Most of us will have experienced the 6.30 whiplash on the BBC or the equivalent on ITV of 'and that was the news, the monarch tapped a dog on the head, and the underground something happened' followed by 'In Regional News Bulletin tonight, something really nasty happened ten minutes from your house.'

I hope it's obvious I was on the wind up. me.crewe did promise to remind me that I should never allow them to edit my newspaper the last time they had a similar point to make. Just not cut out for journalism I'm afraid.

Seriously though, it's a somewhat weak point in this instance. The temperatures experienced in London and the south east in the last week were very much into the territory of being life threatening to the vulnerable, in common with several other European capital cities which also featured in the headlines. It was definitely worthy of the national news. It's not news that Durham wasn't actually that hot.

I get that it might be annoying at times that the media can be biased towards London. I'm Scottish so I'm well aware of how it is. It's not entirely surprising though, given that London and the south east is the most populous area of the country, the centre of government and has the lion's share of the economy. It's just how it goes; a pattern repeated in countries across the globe.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/air-conditioning-torn-homes-under-171119380.html

Geovagriffith that link goes to the Telegraph article that was being discussed yesterday Just because it is being accessed by yahoo doesnt make it different. Is there a particular reason you keep posting about it?

While the extreme heat didnt cover the entire country it did affect a very wide area. I really dont see any particular southern bias in the reporting.

There are times when the London bias is noticeable and annoying, and others where it is needed. This is the latter, it has been bad for so many people in London this last week. Also the news is a useful way of getting out what the situation is for anyone heading there.

Back to the linked story. It is NOT climate laws that they are being ordered to remove the AC, it is planning laws. I am sure the Telegraph would be up in arms if someone in a similar conservation area changed the look of a building without permission if it was something they disagreed on.

The UK Government clearly says that installing AC is not illegal in England, but that your local council should be contacted if there is a question of planning permission. This would apply to changing your front door, the windows, putting in a flag pole, all of which ordinarily do not need planning permission but do if the property is historic or in a conservation area.

I am sure the Telegraph would be up in arms if someone in a similar conservation area changed the look of a building without permission if it was something they disagreed on.

The Telegraph article clearly states that the basis for removing the A/C was due to planning laws, the author of the article wasn't claiming anything else. The headline was clickbait as are pretty much all headlines these days irrespective of the news source or its political affiliations, more clicks = more revenue.

Just curious but do they have cooling centers in England and/or Europe during the dangerously hot days?

In my small town of 24,000 we have churches, community centers, and a spacious library that open their doors when temperatures hit 90F. Volunteers transport people to and from the locations and snacks/water are free. When taking people back home after dinner we ensure they at least have an adequate fan and also start the process of acquiring a window AC unit, which unfortunately can take some time as we have a limited budget. The WHO notes that 489,000 people die per year from heat related deaths with 36% of that number from Europe. Many internal organs are affected but from what I've seen it's often a cardiovascular or respiratory type of event.

Certainly around me last week we had cooling centres, same as we have warm hubs in the winter, but you make your own way there.

In several posts I have seen the term "conservation area".

Is this article -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_area_(United_Kingdom)
an accurate summation of the reality?

If so, it adds for me some very useful context that is probably 'common knowledge' to the UK reader but an unknown term to someone like me who lives on the US west coast.

As to the topic, it looks like the UK and some of western Europe is getting relief from the worst of the heat.

29 June 2026:> Temperatures in the British Isles are now back to normal due to winds coming off the Atlantic. It is likely to warm up again by the weekend with London maybe reaching 30C. Eastern Europe remains in a heatwave plus southern Europe (Spain / Italy & Greece).

You can see what is happening by clicking the following link. Obviously, temperatures will be lower at night. If you change the menu to Satellite -Radar > you can see where thunderstorms brew up - especially with afternoon heat. (You can also click & drag the map to your home area). https://www.meteoblue.com/en/country/weather/satellite/united-kingdom_united-kingdom_2635167

Conservation areas in the UK are usually have unique architecture that must be preserved. For example, if you bought a cottage in The Cotswolds, you would most likely be in a Conservation Area and not allowed to screw a satellite dish on to the front. Sometimes towns are within National Parks and again, planning rules about what you can do to your home can be strict - in a similar way to Conservation Areas.

Here is an example of Planning rules for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in SW Wales for those interested:> https://www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/planning/planning-policy/

Reasonable enough without going into far more detail than is warranted on a travel forum. My UK town is one with conservation areas (mainly due to Georgian architecture), which is done on a street by street basis. In fact less than that- the street where my Parish Church is one side of half the street is a conservation area, the other side (where a modern school is) isn't and the other end of the street isn't.

It's done differently out in your part of the world (and much less onerously) however at least some cities in WA do have Historic Preservation Commissions- I attend remotely the meetings of one as an observer, and they are very interesting meetings. I've just been looking at the City Code for that city, and I'm pretty sure the same issue regarding installing Air Conditioning could in theory happen there in one of the older buildings.

Whether the full City Council (to whom the HPC report) would be more pragmatic is hard to say, without a specific case. I have been speculating over that as this thread has rumbled on.

back to the question on the card - here in East Anglia adjacent, for two days now, windows open in the day, no air conditioners on (blessed quiet), and respite for the rest of the work week. Threats of another heat wave at the end of the week for next weekend, hitting 30C - (86F)

Deep Joy.

Forgive me I should add we have volunteer drivers to transport infirm and aged people to cooling centers, not the able bodied who can get their on their own. Most of the elderly prefer the library for obvious reasons and they have special programs to keep people engaged. Book clubs and guest speakers for example, and even movies.