2022 United Kingdom heatwaves

The 2022 United Kingdom heatwaves were part of several heatwaves across Europe and North Africa. The United Kingdom experienced three heatwaves; the first was for three days in June, the second for three days in July, and the third for six days in August. Climatologists say the extreme heat was due to climate change. 2022 was the UK's warmest year since records began in 1884, with an average annual temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) for the first time. The 2022 heatwaves contributed to the death of nearly 3000 people, most of whom were 65 years or older.
There were also more grass fires and wildfires than average, and in August a drought was declared in many regions. There were nearly 25,000 wildfires across the country.
The Met Office issued its first red warning for extreme heat on 8 July, which affected all of central and southern England and was in place for 18 and 19 July. On 15 July, it declared a national emergency after the red warning was put in place. On 19 July, a record temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) was recorded and verified by the Met Office in Coningsby, England, breaking the previous record set in 2019 of 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) in Cambridge, England.
On the three days from 15 June to 17 June, temperatures in Kew, London, reached at least 28 °C (82 °F), the official heatwave threshold at that location for that time of year. On 17 June, a high of 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) was recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk.
A level two heat-health alert was issued by the UK Health Security Agency to cover the East Midlands and south-west on 15 June. A level three alert was issued for London and South East England the following day.
The heatwave ended on 18 June, as temperatures fell by an average of 10–15 °C (18–27 °F). A "huge cluster" of thunderstorms moved across the UK, prompting the Met Office to issue a yellow warning for lightning for Southern England (lightning warnings had only been issued on three previous occasions). It was also reported that the UK could experience up to a further four heatwaves over the summer, and weather experts had called for heatwaves to be given names in the same way that winter storms are named.
Crowds arrived at swimming pools, parks, seaside destinations in the south and east of England early in the morning of 17 June. Seafront car parks at Bournemouth, Dorset, were said to be full by midday.
On 8 July, the Met Office issued a heat-health alert warning that there was a 90% probability of level 3 alert criteria being met in parts of England on 9 July. On 12 July, the Met Office issued an amber extreme-heat warning for 17 July, which was extended from 17 to 19 July. It was stated that the high temperatures could extend into the following week. By 13 July, the water levels at the Thruscross Reservoir fell low enough to reveal the ruins of West End, a village which was flooded when the reservoir was built in 1966.
On 15 July, the UKHSA increased the Heatwave Alert Level to 4, "illness and death occurring among the fit and healthy – and not just in high-risk groups". The Met Office issued its first ever red extreme-heat warning after there were forecasts of over 40 °C (104 °F) in some parts of England, and a national emergency was declared. The warning was in place from 18 to 19 July, with most of England being affected.
The amber extreme-heat warning was extended to cover Cornwall, west Wales and parts of southern Scotland. A number of schools announced they would either close or allow pupils to wear PE kit in place of their school uniform on the hottest days.
On 17 July, the first day of the amber warning, the highest temperature recorded was 33 °C (91 °F) in Hawarden, Wales. The highest temperature in England was 32 °C (90 °F) in Nantwich, and the highest in Scotland was 26.4 °C (79.5 °F) in Auchincruive. Northern Ireland reached 27.7 °C (81.9 °F) in Armagh.
On 18 July, the first day of the red warning, temperatures reached 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) in Santon Downham, Suffolk. Wales broke its record for the highest recorded temperature, with 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) recorded in Hawarden. The Channel Islands had a new record temperature as 38 °C (100 °F) was recorded in St Helier. The highest temperature in Scotland was 31.3 °C (88.3 °F) in Aboyne, and the highest in Northern Ireland was 31.1 °C (88.0 °F) in Derrylin. Cornwall reached 34.2 °C (93.6 °F) in Bude, breaking the county's record of 33.9 °C (93.0 °F) set during the 1976 British Isles heatwave.
Between 18 and 19 July, the United Kingdom experienced its highest recorded minimum nighttime temperature, at 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) at Shirburn Model Farm, Oxfordshire. This is an increase of 2.9 °C from the previous record, set in Brighton in August 1990. Temperatures in many other parts of the country did not fall below 25 °C (77 °F), giving the UK its warmest tropical night on record.
On 19 July, a temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) was recorded at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom. Before that day, the previous record of 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) was recorded in Cambridge during the 2019 European heatwaves. This record was broken in at least 34 places across England on 19 July, six of which were over 40 °C, the Met Office reported, stating that "the UK's recent extreme heat was far more intense and widespread than previous comparable heatwaves". Many locations broke their previous record temperatures by large margins; for example, Durham reached 36.9 °C (98.4 °F), breaking its previous record of 32.9 °C (91.2 °F) by 4.0 °C. Scotland had its highest temperature ever after 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) was recorded at Charterhall, breaking the record of 32.9 °C (91.2 °F) recorded during the 2003 European heatwave. Aysgarth Falls, a popular waterfall in the Yorkshire Dales, almost completely dried up after the high temperatures and no rainfall in the area for many weeks.
British minister Kit Malthouse told parliament that at least 13 people died in water-related incidents during the heatwave and that at least 41 properties were destroyed in London and more than a dozen elsewhere in Britain.
Network Rail announced that the East Coast Main Line, servicing all stations between London King's Cross and York & Leeds, would close on most of the day on 19 July. Many companies such as Greater Anglia, Great Western Railways and LNER introduced amended timetables, imposing speed restrictions on their trains to avoid track buckling. Transport for London urged people to make only essential journeys on 18 and 19 July.
On 18 July, all flights at Luton Airport were suspended after the high temperatures led to a surface defect on one of the runways. Flights out of the airport resumed at 17:40, more than two hours after they stopped just after 15:00. The RAF halted all flights in and out of RAF Brize Norton, the largest RAF station in the UK, because the 'runway melted'. The rail temperature in Suffolk hit 62 °C (144 °F), which was the highest-ever recorded rail temperature in the UK.
On 19 July, Network Rail issued a "do not travel" warning ahead of the extreme temperatures. No services ran into or out of London King's Cross all day, and no Thameslink or Great Northern services were running north of London. East Midlands Railway was running very limited services between Derby, Nottingham, Luton, Bedford and London, which stopped entirely during the hottest part of the day. The East Coast Main Line south of York was closed, as well as the Sheffield Supertram network. All trains between Euston railway station and Milton Keynes were suspended after a fire began by the track.
Roads across the country began to melt as surface temperatures exceeded 54 °C (129 °F) in Lincolnshire. Among these roads was the A14, which was closed westbound between J36 and J35 for hours after a part of the road "rose and then cracked". A part of the A11 was closed both ways after there was damage to one of the lanes.
A corner shop in Scunthorpe lost around £1,000 worth of goods when its entire stock of chocolate melted during the heatwave.
Major supermarkets in London reported having sold-out of bottled water, ice cream, and ice lollies during the heatwave, and increased sales of paddling pools and burgers. Waitrose reported a 36 per cent year on year increase in the sales of ice cream. John Lewis reported a 709 per cent year on year increase in sales of fans and air conditioning units. Iceland reported 16 July 2022 as its best ever day for ice cream sales, at 12 per cent above its previous highest day, which was in 2019. Ice cream parlours struggled to meet the increase in demand.
Luxury chocolate products retailer, Hotel Chocolat, suspended their delivery service because of the hot weather.
There was an impact on berry farming as hot weather increases the demand for them, and good weather helps farmers to meet that demand as berries ripen quicker. Farmers dropped the prices of strawberries and cherries as bumper crops, about 10-15 per cent more than usual, were produced during the heatwave. Low rainfall and prolonged sunshine in Kent, Herefordshire, Lancashire, and Norfolk provided excellent growing conditions, promoting the strong growth of ripe sweet berries.
Between 10 and 13 July there was an average increase of 15 per cent in the number of visitors to seaside resorts compared to the previous year.
On 25 July, Bloomberg News reported that South East London had narrowly avoided experiencing a blackout on 20 July, after the increase in demand for electricity caused by the hot weather. It was prevented by the National Grid purchasing electricity from Belgium at the highest price the UK had ever paid. They were reported to have paid £9,724 per megawatt hour, 5,000% more than the typical price.
Weather forecasters from the BBC, Met Office and the Royal Meteorological Society were subjected to online abuse and questioned validity over their coverage of the heatwave, most prompted by reports that linked it to climate change.
On 19 July, steep lapse rates in the mid troposphere associated with the plume of hot air led to the development of a line of elevated dry thunderstorms that initiated along a cold front, affecting mostly southern England, progressing eastwards throughout the day and overnight. These storms produced very little precipitation, with accumulations of just 1-2mm in places. This, combined with frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and tinder dry vegetation, created additional fire hazards. Several thousand lightning strikes were detected, causing at least one residential fire.
On 3 August, Marks and Spencer announced that it would stop selling disposable barbecues "to help protect open spaces and reduce the risk of fires". Their decision followed calls by London Fire Brigade for retailers to stop selling them. Along with Aldi and Waitrose, who stopped in March over concern about the impact of their use on the environment, Sainsbury's and Tesco joined the list of supermarkets to stop selling disposable barbecues on 11 August, and were followed by Morrisons and the Co-op the next day.
Another heatwave began on 9 August. An amber extreme-heat weather warning for most of England and Wales was put in place, as well as a level 3 heat health alert for central and southern England and a level 2 alert for northern England.
In August, Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said that "temperatures will not go as high as they did during July" but will last over "a prolonged period" with "temperatures in the low-30s". On 8 August the UK Health Security Agency issued a level 3 heat health alert for central and southern England effective from 9 to 13 August, which was later extended to 14 August.
The highest temperature recorded in the UK on 11 August was 34.2 °C (93.6 °F) in Wiggonholt, West Sussex. The London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner said that in the first week of August 2021 they attended 42 grassland and wildland fires, whilst in the same week in 2022 they attended 340, an increase of over 700%.
On 13 August, a set of safety barriers on the A63 road at South Cave buckled in the heat, less than a year after being installed the previous winter. A station near Crawley in West Sussex recorded 34.9 °C (94.8 °F), the highest temperature of the heatwave.
The highest temperature on 14 August was 34.1 °C (93.4 °F), recorded in Charlwood, Surrey.
At least three people drowned.
Although 14 August was the final day of the extremely hot weather, temperatures remained above the seasonal average into the following day. On 15 August, heavy rain and thunderstorms moved across the UK. The Met Office issued three days of weather alerts for 15, 16 and 17 August, warning of a risk of flash flooding in some areas. An amber weather warning for thunderstorms was issued for parts of south-west England, covering most of Devon and parts of Cornwall and Somerset.
Torrential rain and thunderstorms brought flash flooding to parts of London and South East England on 17 August. The heavy rain also resulted in raw sewage being discharged into the sea in some places after sewers overflowed. A number of pollution warnings were in place for beaches in England and Wales.
There was another increase in ice cream sales, during the August heatwave, with the smaller retailers having challenges meeting the demand.
Because of the prolonged hot weather, gardeners reported an increased ability to grow plants that would usually have difficulty flourishing in the UK, such as figs and avocados.
Increasingly intense and prolonged heat periods can have dire health consequences, especially in cities. The 2022 heatwaves contributed to nearly 3000 all-cause excess deaths – meaning people who are not expected to die during this period. This represents the highest number of deaths during heatwaves since 2004. Most of the extra deaths occurred in those aged over 65. Heatwave-related excess deaths in the over-65s age group have increased by 146% since 2017.
The Met Office said rainfall between January and June 2022 was the lowest since 1976, giving England its driest start to the year for 46 years. It was confirmed that England had experienced its driest July since 1935, with parts of the country having the least rainfall on record. The south east and central southern England had the driest July since records began in 1836, with an average of 5.0mm rainfall.
On 26 July, and with water supplies beginning to run low, the National Drought Group met to discuss a strategy for dealing with the conditions. Although the group stopped short of declaring a drought, it was reported the UK's water companies had started to put the early stages of their drought policies into motion by urging people to conserve water. On 29 July, Southern Water became the first water company to introduce a hosepipe ban. The measure, affecting Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, was scheduled to come into force from 5 August. Following a prolonged dry spell in South East England, on 3 August South East Water announced a temporary hosepipe ban for Kent and Sussex from 12 August. On 4 August Welsh Water announced a hosepipe ban for Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire, which had experienced their driest summer since 1976, commencing on 19 August. On 7 August, with another heatwave expected to occur in the coming days, George Eustace, the Secretary of State for the Environment, urged water companies to impose further hosepipe bans. On 9 August Thames Water announced plans to introduce a hosepipe ban for its 15 million customers; the ban was subsequently confirmed to begin on 24 August. On 12 August, Yorkshire Water became the fifth water company to announce a hosepipe ban, which will come into place on 26 August. It is their first hosepipe ban in 27 years.
On 12 August, a drought was officially declared in eight of the 14 Environment Agency areas: Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and the East Midlands. John Curtin, executive director of local operations for the Environment Agency, warned lack of water would be an issue for several months, and that the UK would need above average rainfall through the autumn and winter to avoid another drought in 2023. A drought was declared in the West Midlands region on 23 August, with the Environment Agency warning it had been using groundwater resources and reserves from reservoirs in Wales to help maintain the flows of the River Severn, which supplies six million people in the area. On 30 August a drought was declared in south-west England, covering Bristol, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Dorset and parts of Wiltshire.
On 19 August, the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales declared a drought in south west Wales, and specifically in north Ceredigion, Teifi, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen, Swansea, Llanelli, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend.
On 23 April, a large wildfire broke out on Canford Heath in Dorset. Twenty homes were evacuated, and an area of roughly 16.7 hectares (41 acres) was burnt. Dozens of animals were reported killed, and Dorset Wildlife Trust said that it would take 15 years for the heath to be restored. On 25 April, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service investigators said that the fire was started deliberately. On 14 May yet another fire broke out on the heath. On 22 May, a third fire broke out. The fire service confirmed that it was once again due to "human intervention".
On 11 July, three wildfires began at Salisbury Plain partly due to live firing exercises, which merged to make two large fires. All fires were eventually put out on 14 July, after the help of a helicopter. The largest of the fires affected around 750 ha (1,900 acres). By the side of the A61 road north of Ripon, a blaze in a crop field affected traffic as smoke went across the road. A wildfire at a solar farm near Verwood, Dorset damaged some solar panels and spread to around 15,000 m (3.7 acres; 1.5 ha). A grass fire on Monkstone Beach, between Tenby and Saundersfoot, burned about 10 ha (25 acres) of undergrowth.
On 13 July, two wildfires broke out in Surrey, one at Hankley Common and one about a tenth of the size at Frensham Little Pond. The Hankley Common fire affected almost 18 ha (44 acres). A grass fire in Harlington, London damaged about 14 ha (35 acres) of shrubland.
On 14 July, a fire near Baschurch burnt around 24 ha (59 acres) of straw, hay and hedgerows. On 15 July, there was a large fire near Rowton Castle. Between 15 and 18 July, there were ten wildfires across Shropshire.
On 17 July, a fire started in an area of grassland in Bestwood, Nottinghamshire, which spread to a some houses. A total of 26 homes were evacuated and one house was badly damaged, with other house's sheds and garden fences also being burnt. A large field fire began beside the M11 motorway near Littlebury, which burnt 400 acres (160 ha) and had 15 fire crews at the scene.
On 18 July, many fires started across England and Wales, including one in Lickey Hills Country Park, Birmingham.
On 19 July, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) declared a major incident due to the number of fires across London, being one of 15 areas around the country to do so. The LFB had its busiest day since World War Two, receiving 2,670 calls compared to its normal 350 calls a day. 16 firefighters suffered heat-related injuries, two of which were hospitalised. A total of 41 properties were destroyed by fires, as well as many cars. Most were grass fires, and the LFB urged the public not to hold barbecues or bonfires, and to only dial 999 during an emergency or an immediate risk to life.
A large grass fire began near Wennington, London, which quickly spread to the village and destroyed 19 homes, twelve stables, five cars and more than 20 ha (49 acres) of grassland. A grassland wildfire in Dagenham spread to houses, destroying 14 and damaging others, with the additional loss of pets and cars. Another fire broke out next to the A2 on Dartford Heath near Durrell Dene, in Joyce Green, Kent. The local Spirits Rest Dartford Horse and Animal Sanctuary was heavily damaged. A large grass fire began by the M25 on Pea Lane in Upminster, causing smoke to billow across the motorway. A grass fire broke out near Bradgate Hill, Groby. 240 firefighters from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service dealt with a large fire near Cheshunt. In South Yorkshire, a wildfire destroyed homes in Sprotbrough. There were also major fires in the Hatfield and Rossington areas. Grassland on New Brighton waterfront in Merseyside caught fire. In Cornwall, wildfire spread through fields near Zennor and Nare Head. In Norfolk the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident after being called to more than 70 reports in a day, including two house fires. Around 33 ha (82 acres) of land was burnt by a fire at Wild Ken Hill in Norfolk. In Ashmanhaugh, two semi-detached properties were destroyed by a fire. A field fire in Poringland spread to three homes, two of which were destroyed. A crop field fire, which covered about 2 ha (4.9 acres), forced the A47 road to close until 7 p.m.. Five properties in Brancaster Staithe were destroyed by a large field fire. About 20 homes were either destroyed or badly damaged in Ashill when a fire in a neighbouring field got out of control.
On 24 July, a third wildfire started in Hankley Common, Surrey, burning at least 8 ha (20 acres) of land; it was declared a major incident. A fire in Hayes affected the visibility at Heathrow Airport's runways due to the smoke.
On 5 August, a wildfire broke out on Upton Heath in Dorset. Investigators believe the fire was started deliberately. The same day, a wildfire broke out on playfields in nearby Weymouth.
On 6 August, a wildfire broke out in the Boscawen Park area of Truro in Cornwall. 40 firefighters from the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze. A wildfire broke out sparked from a train on the Swanage Railway in Dorset, which burned grassland on an embankment between Harman's Cross and Corfe Castle.
On 7 August, a wildfire burned woodland and damaged the rears of properties in Hereford Road in Feltham, West London. London Fire Brigade said crews had managed to stop flames spreading to about 30 homes.
On 8 August, seven fire engines, six off-road vehicles and a water carrier attended a fire which began on a farm near Houghton, West Sussex. It burned a total of 150 ha (370 acres) of crops and stubble. A fire burned a cornfield near Winterborne Stickland, Dorset, which affected 7.4 acres (3.0 ha) of corn.
On 9 August, a grass fire began in Enfield, London, which damaged about 5 ha (12 acres) of grassland. A gorse fire began on Rushmere Heath on the edge of Ipswich, which burned about 1.5 ha (3.7 acres). A fire near Fishbourne, West Sussex destroyed around 20 ha (49 acres) of grassland, whilst another in Walberton covering 6.1 ha (15 acres) forced a nearby care home to be evacuated.
On 10 August, a fire began in Cherington, Gloucestershire, people were warned to avoid the area around Tarlington Road.
On 11 August, two separate field fires at Turners Hill destroyed around 16 ha (40 acres) of grassland.
On 12 August, a large fire began on Studland Heath, which resulted in evacuations and forced the suspension of the Sandbanks Ferry. At its height, 90 firefighters were fighting the blaze, and evidence of a campfire and a disposable barbecue were found in the ashes. The ferry was used to get people off the beach in Studland, and to transport firefighting vehicles from the other side. The fire was extinguished on 15 August after burning about 5 ha (12 acres) of National Trust nature reserve. In Broomfield, Essex, a fire burnt 37 ha (91 acres). A wildfire in a field threatened homes in Barne Barton in Plymouth, Devon. Two wildfires broke out in Cornwall, one in Camborne and another alongside the A30 road near Redruth.
On 13 August, three gardens were damaged in Harlow after a fire burnt 15 ha (37 acres) of grass and affected some overhead cables. In Watford, a caravan park was evacuated after 20 ha (49 acres) of fields, hedgerows and trees burned close to an industrial estate which houses the headquarters of UK National Lottery operator Camelot Group.
On 13 August, a wildfire burned near West Calder in West Lothian for three days.
On 14 August, Mark Hardingham, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), said that the hot and dry conditions in 2022 had resulted in a 200% increase in the number of wildfires compared to the previous year. There were 247 wildfires in 2021, and 745 in 2022 as of 14 August.
On 20 August, a heath fire was extinguished on Dewlands Common in Verwood, Dorset. On 21 August, a wildfire burned on Bourne Valley Nature Reserve in Dorset.
According to Met Office estimates, extreme heat has been made ten times more likely because of climate change in the United Kingdom. Extreme event attribution showed that "without human-caused climate change temperatures of 40°C in the UK would have been extremely unlikely".
Provisional figures published by the Met Office on 1 September 2022 indicated England had experienced its joint hottest summer during 2022, with an average temperature of 17.1°C during June, July and August. This was comparable with the summer of 2018.
Met Office data published on 14 October 2022 indicated that temperature records were broken at 56 of the UK's 109 oldest weather stations during the July heatwave.
On 5 January 2023, the Met Office confirmed that 2022 was the UK's warmest year since records began in 1884, with an average annual temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) for the first time.
Social media misinformation and conspiracy theories compared the July heatwave to the 1976 heatwave, and claimed that the effect of both were exaggerated. The maximum temperature in 2022 exceeded 1976's peak temperature of 35.9 °C (96.6 °F). BBC News reported that "suggestions that there is nothing unusual about this heatwave appear to have found a willing audience among climate change sceptics". An image circulated on social media claiming that the colour scale of new-style Met Office forecast maps had been "designed to look like fear and destruction", with the meteorologist who had created the map's colour scales saying that although the scale had been altered in 2021 for the benefit of colour blind viewers, the image being shared had been doctored to exaggerate this.
On 19 July 2022, Extinction Rebellion activists smashed windows of The News Building in London in response to coverage of the heatwave by The Sun and The Times.
Writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, journalist Jon Allsop criticised right-leaning British publications in particular for downplaying and detracting from the effects on the hottest days before covering them more seriously following the series of wildfires. He analysed American media coverage and determined it to be heavily focused on the United Kingdom despite heatwaves elsewhere in Europe, the United States and the Global South due to inequity and the image of a "cold and wet Britain". Allsop also found that, while climate change has had more attention in stories on the heatwave, media exploration of its role and impact is still limited and lacking.