LONDON — Britain recorded its hottest day of the year on Thursday as temperatures reached 38.1 degrees Celsius in west London, while firefighters battled wildfires that destroyed homes and forced evacuations across parts of central England.
The Met Office said the temperature recorded in London was 0.1C above the previous 2026 high set on June 28. It was the fifth-hottest day ever recorded in the United Kingdom, although it remained below the August record of 38.5C set in 2003.
The heat coincided with worsening wildfire conditions after weeks of limited rainfall. In Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, a grass fire spread to nearby homes on Thursday, with around 20 to 30 properties completely destroyed, according to local lawmaker Cat Eccles. West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said an investigation would be launched and that the fire was believed to have begun in grassland before spreading to residential areas.
The National Fire Chiefs Council said the number of wildfires in England and Wales had already surpassed last year's record of 1,017 incidents. NFCC Chair Phil Garrigan told Reuters that the wildfire season could continue into November and said fire and rescue services were struggling to meet demand.
“We've declared 11 major incidents over the course of the last 24 hours,” Garrigan said, adding that requests for assistance had probably exceeded the capacity of Britain's fire and rescue services.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, visiting Stourbridge, urged people to take extra care. He said 37 fires were still smouldering around the country and that the situation was not over. Fire services were working alongside the military in some areas, he said, with a summit planned with emergency services to assess resource needs.
The Met Office said temperatures eased slightly on Friday, while the most intense heat was expected to move eastward and recede over the weekend. But many parts of Britain had received little or no rain for weeks. July was the driest month on record for England and Wales, according to the Met Office, leaving vegetation and landscapes unusually dry.
Firefighters continued responding to wildfires on Friday as authorities monitored the elevated risk from persistent dry conditions.
