A woman shields herself from the sun with an umbrella while walking near Tower Bridge during a heatwave, as Britain experiences record-breaking temperatures that disrupt schools and transportation networks in London, June 25, 2026 — Reuters.
– 35 days above 30°C have shattered the 1995 record.
– Heat and drought pose threats to crops and food supplies.
– Heavy rainfall hits northwest Scotland, contrasting with the heat elsewhere.
The UK is approaching its fifth heatwave of the year, with temperatures expected to reach 36°C in certain areas of eastern and southeastern England next week, following a record number of days surpassing 30°C, according to the BBC.
Frittenden in Kent recorded 30.6°C on Sunday, pushing the total days with temperatures of at least 30°C this year in the UK to 35, overtaking the previous record of 34 set in 1995.
Forecasts indicate temperatures will climb further next week, with parts of East Anglia and southeastern England possibly hitting 36°C by Thursday. Monday is expected to be cooler before the temperature rises again.
The intense heat and extended dry spells are already impacting British agriculture. English farmers are dealing with the driest July ever recorded by the Met Office, a troubling development for farmers like Pawsey, who have seen disappointingly low yields of oats, wheat, and vetch.
Concerns over food security are dominating headlines as heatwaves become more frequent this year. UK farmer John Pawsey explained to AFP, “It completely dried out all of a sudden. It feels like the drought has gone on forever.” He added, “When we brought in the combines, we realized yields were down between 25 and 30%.”
His family has farmed the Suffolk soil since his Scottish great-grandfather moved there, part of a wave of farm workers who migrated south following the late 19th-century agricultural depression.
Like his ancestors, Pawsey, 62, faces an uncertain future amid changing climate conditions. “I worry about the coming years,” he admitted.
The drought is just the latest weather-related challenge confronting UK farmers over the past five years. Pawsey emphasizes that farmers need to adapt and sees opportunities in the current climate shifts. His organic farm is experimenting with crops like fava beans and chickpeas, which are better suited to hotter, drier conditions, and employing resilience-building techniques such as intercropping, where different plants compete for space and nutrients to strengthen their survival.
He argues that government support is vital for farmers to transition toward these methods. Food security expert Timothy Benton advocates for less intensive farming practices, promoting a more diverse, circular system that would reduce reliance on imports of fruits, fertilizers, and other essential inputs.
Benton warns that climate impacts will intensify, forcing significant changes in food systems. “We aren’t investing enough in technological innovations to address this growing crisis,” he told AFP. “Food isn’t just about what’s grown; it encompasses the entire process of production and distribution to the population.”
