London's Kew Gardens reached a high of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 F) on Thursday, marking the United Kingdom's hottest day of 2026 and the fifth hottest on record.
This is the second time this year that the temperature has hit 38 C (100.4 F), with Lingwood, Norfolk previously recording 38.0 C (100.4 F) on June 26. This phenomenon of reaching 38 C twice in the same year has only occurred once before, in 2022.
While an amber warning for extreme heat issued by the Met Office for much of England expired at midnight on Thursday, high temperatures are forecast to persist in central and eastern parts of England on Friday. Across the Midlands, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, and the South East, long periods of sunshine are expected to push temperatures between 29 C and 34 C (84-93 F). For many areas, this will represent the third consecutive day exceeding official heatwave thresholds.
The intense heat is expected to subside elsewhere in the UK. Fresher conditions will begin to move into northern and western regions, though temperatures are likely to remain above average for this time of year, generally reaching the low to mid-20s Celsius. The weather is predicted to be mostly dry with a mixture of cloud and sunny spells, although isolated heavy and potentially thundery showers are possible in some locations.
Cooler weather is anticipated to arrive for the weekend across all parts of the UK.