Large parts of western Europe sweltered on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, as Britain and France entered their fifth heat waves of the summer, with UK forecasters predicting temperatures as high as 38 C in central and southeast England and French forecasters projecting 40 C in central and southern France.
Britain and France enter fifth heat wave of summer as drought conditions persist
Large parts of western Europe sweltered on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, as Britain and France entered their fifth heat waves of the summer, with UK forecasters predicting temperatures as high as 38 C in central and southeast England and French forecasters projecting 40 C in central and southern France.
The highest temperature recorded in the UK this year was 38 C in eastern England on June 26. The UK's Met Office said earlier this week that only average conditions were needed for the remainder of August for 2026 to surpass last year's record as the hottest year.
Temperatures in France are forecast to reach 40 C in central and southern areas and 38 C in Paris. Forecasters have not given a date by which those conditions are expected to ease.
Widespread drought conditions in both countries have damaged crops, reduced river levels, and strained water supplies. Britain's Southern Water has applied for a drought order that would ban businesses in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from non-essential water use, such as washing cars and filling non-domestic swimming pools. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will rule on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.
Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council, matching last year's record-breaking total. Firefighters in Britain have been working this week to contain a wildfire in the New Forest in southern England. In France, a wildfire broke out late Wednesday in the northern Pas-de-Calais region and another in Brittany. A separate fire near Bordeaux last month destroyed forests and displaced approximately 250,000 people.
French firefighters have threatened to go on strike to demand more staff and resources to cope with increasingly extreme weather events, according to the source.
- The source does not state the specific criteria or timeline Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will use to decide on Southern Water's drought order application.
- The source does not state how many nursing staff have collapsed or been hospitalized, nor in which specific hospitals the incidents occurred.
- The source does not state the specific demands French firefighters have made beyond a general call for more staff and resources.
- The source does not state the current status of the Brittany or Pas-de-Calais wildfires — whether they were contained or still burning as of the time of publication.
- The source does not state what scientific body or study formally designated Europe as the fastest-warming continent.
- The source does not state what penalties businesses would face if a drought order is granted and they violate its terms.