UK to hold emergency meeting on extreme heat, wildfires, drought

The British prime minister will hold an emergency Cobra meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing response to extreme heat, wildfires and drought.

Andy Burnham is expected to chair the meeting, as the government understands that firefighters, farmers and NHS staff are all facing challenges linked to the weather, the BBC reported, citing a government spokesperson.

Commenting on the emergency meeting, Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the country now needs action, adding: “We cannot negotiate with the science.”

“Tax fossil fuel giants to pay for firefighting helicopters. A cool space in every community. A maximum working temperature. And no new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea,” he wrote on US social media platform X.

The meeting comes after the latest heat wave this week, as more areas in England were placed under drought status on Monday and firefighters continued battling a significant wildfire in the New Forest in Hampshire.

The UK’s weather agency, the Met Office, has also issued a rare amber extreme heat warning for Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Met Office said the UK is on course to record its hottest summer on record in terms of average temperature.

On July 30, a drought was declared across Wales amid deteriorating conditions caused by sustained high temperatures, while a drought was also declared last month across half of England following record-low rainfall and prolonged high temperatures.

Last month, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Britain recorded 2,877 excess deaths during the May and June heat waves, nearly double the 1,504 excess deaths recorded during the summer of 2025.

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