Overview
- The UK Health Security Agency has extended an amber heat-health alert for parts of the East of England while downgrading many previously amber areas to yellow alerts for London, the south east and the south west.
- The government issued a large-scale mobile phone emergency alert at the request of firefighters telling people not to light anything that could spark wildfires after major blazes in recent days.
- A provisional reading of 38.1°C at Kew Gardens on Thursday marked one of the hottest days this year and helped trigger wildfires and a major M25 incident that increased ambulance and hospital demand.
- Charities and NHS staff say pressure on hospitals and ambulance services has continued for days after peak temperatures, with organisers describing problems such as dehydration, staff delays and extra ward support needs.
- The episode sits inside a longer dry spell that raises risks to water supply, power demand and care-home safety and increases the chance of more fires, so officials urge checks on vulnerable people and careful management of medicines.