London hit with 48 hour weather warning before new 4 day heatwave arrives with 32C high

Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for London, the East Midlands, East of England, the South East, South West and West Midlands

11:25, 24 Jul 2026Updated 11:26, 24 Jul 2026

London has been hit with a hot weather warning ahead of a heatwave next week. The weather warning started at 9am today (Friday, July 24) and will run until 9am on Sunday (July 26), says the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The yellow heat health alerts were issued for London, the East Midlands, East of England, the South East, South West and West Midlands. Temperatures in the affected areas are forecast to reach mid to high 20s, with a high of 30C a possibility, over the weekend as much of the country continues to experience a prolonged period of dry, warm weather.

Temperatures are forecast to continue rising in London with heatwave conditions set to be reached next week. For the weather to constitute a heatwave, temperatures have to be over 28C for three days consecutively, according to the Met Office.

Between Tuesday (July 28) and Friday (July 31) the mercury will hover between 29C and 32C, according to BBC Weather. The Met Office’s forecast doesn’t stretch as far as the BBC’s but it sure forecasts the weather to be around the 30C mark next week. WX Charts also shows a sweaty forecast with next Thursday (July 30) also peaking at 30C.

It comes after the first part of the UK declared drought status amid a summer of record-breaking heatwaves. It covers North Wales and the Upper Severn, following record dry conditions, wildfires and dwindling rivers.

Many parts of England are in prolonged dry weather status as the country has received just 3 per cent of its average July rainfall, with hosepipe bans in place for 23 million customers and suppliers warning they may stay in place all summer.

This summer’s dry conditions follow last year’s drought summer, as the UK increasingly faces more extreme weather fuelled by human-caused climate change, mostly from burning fossil fuels.

The weather health alerting system is provided by the UKHSA in partnership with the Met Office and is intended to provide early warning to the health and social care sector, the responder community, the voluntary and community sector and government departments when adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and well-being of the population.