Burnham to chair Cobra meeting on extreme heat as temperatures surge again

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will chair a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee on Wednesday to discuss the UK's response to the extreme heat, as temperatures are set to soar again.

A No 10 spokesperson said the government understood firefighters, farmers and NHS staff were all facing challenges connected to the weather.

This week's latest heatwave comes as more areas in England were placed under drought status on Monday and firefighters continue to battle a significant wildfire in the New Forest in Hampshire.

The Met Office has issued a rare amber extreme heat warning, external for Thursday, with temperatures peaking in the mid-to-high 30s across the Midlands and south-east of England, and a high of 38C possible

It comes as the record for the number of days reaching 30C in any year in the UK has been broken, according to the Met Office, with Sunday the 35th day of the year so far.

The Cobra meeting will be attended by ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Home Office, and Department for Health, as well as the Environment Agency.

It will be the second Cobra meeting this year on heatwaves, after one took place amid high temperatures in June.

A spokesperson for No 10 said this summer was proving "challenging" in the UK, particularly for "firefighters tackling wildfires, farmers working in drought conditions, and NHS staff in busy A&E units".

"We will continue to take the action needed to keep communities safe, protect water supplies and safeguard the environment," they said.

The hottest weather this week is expected on Thursday across the Midlands, Eastern England, London and south-east England, Yorkshire and Humber.

Temperatures could potentially reach 38C which would equal the highest temperature of the summer so far recorded at Lingwood in Norfolk on 26 June.

This would be the hottest August day since 2003, when 38.5C was recorded.

It is also likely to be the fourth calendar month this year to record 35C or more, which is unprecedented.

On Monday, drought officials declared 71.3% of England in drought, meaning there are a total of 45 million people now living in a drought area, with more than 27 million facing water use restrictions.

Firefighters have responded to 966 wildfires across England and Wales this year, including 185 in the first 10 days of August, and 458 in July, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council.

A fire in the New Forest has been burning since Sunday, which started after a van caught fire on the A31 near Ringwood.

Last week, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said the NHS should be "preparing for summer pressures now in the same way we prepare for winter".

She told LBC Radio plans were in place to respond to higher numbers of people coming in to A&E.

On Tuesday, the Met Office said this summer is on course to be the UK's hottest since records began, with the mean temperature currently at 16.48C set to surpass the figure set just last year.

This is in line with evidence that summers are getting hotter and are likely to become drier because of climate change.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the Cobra meeting was just a first step, and a "climate emergency" had led to hundreds of deaths and was "stretching our firefighters, health staff and farmers to the limit".

He called for "concrete action" and said he looked forward to hearing how Burnham intended to "prepare for the threats to come".

The UK's Health Security Agency has also issued amber heat health alerts, which cover the whole of England.

Heat health alerts warn the public and medical professionals when periods of hot or cold weather pose a threat to health.

They warn that significant impacts are likely across social and health care, including a rise in deaths.

The alerts are in place until Friday evening.

This heatwave should be shorter lived than others so far this summer with temperatures starting to feel noticeably cooler over the weekend.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will not experience the same extreme heat as southern England, although eastern parts of Northern Ireland, southern and eastern Scotland will still see temperatures well above the heatwave threshold.

They will be notably above average for mid-August and the humidity is likely to intensify on Wednesday night into Thursday.

Some places could reach the mid to high 20s Celsius on Wednesday - when a typical August daytime temperature would generally be in the high teens to low 20s.

Western Scotland and western parts of Northern Ireland are likely to remain somewhat cooler due to cloud and occasional rain moving in from the Atlantic.

While confidence in the details remains low, this could open the door for showers and perhaps some prolonged spells of rain.

To alleviate drought though, months of above-average rainfall is needed.

The persistence of high-pressure weather systems over recent months has been unusual but this is the type of summer scientists have warned about due to climate change.

As average temperatures rise – mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels around the world – hot weather becomes much more likely and more intense.

While temperatures will continue to vary from year to year, scientists warn that summers will keep getting hotter on average as carbon emissions continue to heat up the planet.

This means future heatwaves will be able to reach even higher temperatures than the same weather systems of the past.

Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.