Image source, Getty Images

The Met Office has issued its second ever red warning for extreme heat as temperatures are expected to reach at least 39C, with some areas potentially reaching 40C.

It will come into effect on 09:00 BST on Wednesday to 21:00 Thursday for parts of England and Wales, with substantial disruption to travel, critical infrastructure and widespread damage to property a possibility.

East Surrey Hospital has already declared a critical incident due to high levels of demand on its emergency care services, exacerbated by high temperatures, while South East Water is asking customers to use water for "essential purposes only". The forecast has also prompted calls for caution around the water.

Image source, Reuters

In France, two children were found dead in their family car in an accident that is being linked to the heatwave, although the full circumstances are not yet clear. Soaring temperatures in Europe have also led to school closures, alcohol bans and events being scrapped.

The Met Office has warned the wider population will be susceptible to heat stress, which can lead to heat exhaustion and heatstroke, so it is important to be able to recognise the symptoms for both.

Tuesday is expected to be the UK's warmest day of the year so far, and significantly hotter than Monday, with temperatures forecast to reach between 30 and 36C across England and Wales.

We're ending our live coverage here. You can read more in our news story.

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Tuesday is expected to be the UK's warmest day of the year so far - and significantly hotter than Monday across all parts.

There may be some early mist and low cloud, especially close to coasts in the west, but that will soon burn away to leave a day of strong June sunshine with very high UV levels. A little more cloud with the odd spot of rain will linger in the northwest of Scotland.

Winds on Tuesday will be lighter than Monday from a south-easterly direction, and temperatures will rise to around 24 to 29C for Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England, but peaking between 30 and 36C across England and Wales.

Humidity will also be increasing, making temperatures feel up to 5C warmer than the reading on the thermometer.

Image source, PA Media

People are being urged to take care near open water and outdoor spaces because extreme heat worsens the risk of wildfires and water-related deaths.

The National Fire Chiefs Council says parents and carers should speak to children and youth about the dangers of open water. The organisation is also warning that water temperatures can be dangerously cold, even though the air is hot.

The warning follows several water-related deaths, including those involving young people, during May's heatwave.

"We have already seen the consequences that periods of extreme heat can have, with a number of lives tragically lost in water-related incidents during recent hot weather," NFCC chairman Phil Garrigan says.

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Red warnings for any weather type are rare and the Met Office only issue them around once per year. Red warnings for extreme heat are rarer still, and this is only the second time one has been issued since the extreme heat warnings service started in 2021.

The only other time the warning was issued was during the unprecedented heatwave of July 2022. On the 19th temperatures reached 40C for the first time. The highest temperature in this spell was 40.3C recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

This smashed the previous all time UK temperature record - 38.7C in Cambridge in 2019 - by a staggering 1.6C.

During this time the UK government declared a national emergency. Transport infrastructure was severely impacted due to buckling rails, melting roads and sagging overhead cables, flights were suspended at Luton airport due to the temperature of the runway, and fire services were put under a huge strain.

The Office for National Statistics estimates that during the late July heat there were 2,227 excess heat-related deaths in the UK.

We've been receiving lots of pictures from BBC Weather Watchers across the country. Some have been getting on with their days, while others are looking out for those taking to the water to beat the heat.

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Outnabout

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Nadezna

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/uWhoAndyR

South East Water is asking that people only use water for essential reasons.

The company, which failed to supply thousands of customers in the previous heatwave, says demand is high given the temperatures.

"Please use water for essential purposes only: hygiene, drinking and cooking," the company says.

It adds that 644 million litres of water was treated and put into the network yesterday, 56 million litres higher than the June average.

A hospital in Surrey has declared a critical incident due to high levels of demand on its emergency care services, exacerbated by high temperatures.

East Surrey Hospital is having to reschedule some non-urgent appointments to accommodate patients with the most urgent clinical need, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust says.

A critical incident is declared when a service is under extreme pressure, threatening a hospital's ability to deliver safe and effective care. Patients are being urged to only attend the hospital in a life-threatening emergency.

Image source, Getty

Wembley Stadium has confirmed the Harry Styles concert will go ahead on Tuesday, despite temperatures forecast by the Met Office to reach 36C.

Organisers told the BBC the show will proceed as planned, though it will allow guests to bring their own metal or hard plastic bottles and fill them up inside the venue.

The prices of bottled water sold across all bars will be reduced by 50%, while free sun cream will also be available.

Doors open at 17:00 BST, with people advised not to arrive too early and avoid waiting outside in the sun.

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Image source, Getty Images

Urban areas, particularly large cities like London and Birmingham will feel the heat more, and especially at night, due to the urban heat island effect.

It's because of the materials used in cities, as well as the relative lack of green spaces and bodies of water, that heat gets trapped in urban areas - which can be up to 4C hotter than the surrounding countryside overnight.

Coastal areas will be a few degrees cooler, especially around the south and east coasts of England, where the breeze will be coming in from the relatively cool sea.

Mark Poynting
Climate reporter

The red alert issued today is the latest in a series of increasingly intense and frequent heatwaves the UK has experienced over the last decade.

The number of days exceeding 32C in the UK has almost quadrupled in the last ten years compared with the 1961-1990 average, the Met Office says - which all points to human-caused climate change.

As humans burn coal, oil and gas and cut down forests, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. These gases act like a blanket, causing the planet to heat up.

Since the 1980s, the UK has been warming at about 0.25C per decade, according to the Met Office. That might not sound like much, but even a small increase to average temperatures makes a big difference, making hotter days more likely and more intense.

The Met Office is warning of a risk to health, including heat stress, to the wider population, not just those vulnerable to extreme heat.

Heat stress is when the body's way of controlling its temperature starts to fail, influenced by things like temperature, humidity and clothing. Symptoms include inability to concentrate, muscle cramps, heat rash and fainting.

This can lead to heat exhaustion - which includes symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, nausea and moist skin. If you see someone you think has heat exhaustion, the NHS says you should move them to a cool place, get them to lie down with their feet raised, make them drink plenty of water and cool their skin.

Heat exhaustion is not normally serious if they can be cooled down within half an hour - but they are at risk of heatstrokeif they do not recover within 30 minutes. Symptoms include confusion, not sweating, a temperature over 40C, nausea, and vomiting. This is a medical emergency - you should call 999 immediately.

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Image source, PA Media

Two levels of extreme heat warnings have been issued by the Met Office this week.

A red warning - the highest tier - has been issued for parts of central and southern England and south-east Wales from 09:00 Wednesday until 21:00 Thursday, stretching from Kent all the way to Glamorganshire, and as far north as Birmingham.

Within this region, temperatures are likely to exceed 37C widely. The hottest spots may see 38 to 40C. Current indications are for the very hottest places to be to the west of London, including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

Amber extreme heat warnings cover a larger area of England and Wales, including large parts of central, southern and eastern England as well as east Wales until the end of Tuesday. The area then expands to cover more of south-west and northern England as well as most of Wales for Wednesday into Thursday.

If you're within the amber warning region, then expect daytime temperatures to peak around the low to mid 30s, with 36C possible on any day between Tuesday and Thursday. And, exceptionally warm and humid conditions are expected by night too, with some places not falling below 20 to 22C.

Hugh Schofield
Paris Correspondent

Two children aged two and four have been found dead in their family car in the south of France, in an accident that is being linked to the heatwave.

Emergency services were called to an address in the town of Carpentras shortly after 13:00 local time (12:00 BST).

The two children were stuck inside the car after returning from a shopping trip with their mother. The full circumstances are not yet clear.

The local state prosecutor said the precise cause of death had yet to be determined, but “it is probably linked to the heatwave.”

With an exterior heat of 35C, the inside of a car with windows shut can easily reach 15 or 20 degrees above that in half an hour, experts say.

Antonia Matthews
BBC Wales

Wales is often spared the worst of extreme UK heat, but this week's heatwave will see temperatures rise to 38C to 40C in some parts of the country, according to the Met Office.

Those highs have not been seen before, and now a first red weather warning has been issued.

The current June record in of 33.7C Wales, recorded in Machynlleth in 2000, is expected to be exceeded by several degrees.

The all-time maximum temperature record - currently 37.1C recorded in 2022, also looks set to be overtaken.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a red heat-health alert for six regions in England.

A red heat-health alert indicates that a severe heatwave could have impacts beyond health, and could potentially affect transport systems, food, water, energy supplies and businesses. It means there is a risk to life for even the healthy population.

The West Midlands, East Midlands, South East, South West, London, and East of England will be under the alert from 01:00 BST on Wednesday until 23:00 on Thursday.

The agency has also issued an amber alert for North West, North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber.

This is the only the second time an alert like this has been issued.

Dr Agostinho Sousa of the UKHSA says it is "important to look out for others, especially elderly relatives, neighbours, and those with underlying health conditions".

This is separate to the red heat alert issued by the Met Office this morning.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

"We're having lots of cold showers," says Charlotte, 23, sitting with her friends on the steps of their performing arts college in north London.

Hallie, 22, from Texas says it's still not as hot as her home town.

"I'm avoiding the tube and carrying a fan everywhere. It would be lovely to run through some fountains. Honestly I prefer the rain!" she says.

Vanessa Clarke
Education reporter

It’s very unusual for schools to close due to hot weather in England - but the decision ultimately lies in the hands of the head teacher and school leaders.

There is no legal maximum temperature for classrooms, but the World Health Organisation recommends around 24°C as a comfortable upper limit.

School leaders will be keeping a close eye - referring to their risk assessments, checking temperatures, and watching out for pupils becoming tired more quickly, especially vulnerable pupils.

And if a head teacher makes the decision to close the school, they will need to talk to the chair of governors and their academy trust or employer first - so it’s always a very carefully considered call.

Alex Akhurst
BBC UGC/Eyewitness journalist

Image source, PA Media

Beau is a teacher at a school for special education in the south of England.

She says that the extreme heat has made work much more difficult, with young people really struggling with their additional needs.

"I cannot express how much more stressful this weather makes our job," she tells the BBC. "The children suffer immensely, staff are at their limit."

She says there is no air conditioning in the building "and yet we still need to continue with our physically demanding, emotional job".

"The poor children expected to do a full school day. They are [in] pre-verbal, autistic and ADHD classes. Awful."

The heat means that some roadways could become softer or sticky, and heavy traffic could cause rutting in places, the AA says - meaning gritters could be out on some roads to help with areas that have become tacky with the heat.

Speaking to the Press Association, AA President Edmund King says: "The main risk for drivers is not that the road suddenly ‘melts’ everywhere, but that patches can become tacky or uneven.

"That can affect braking, steering and grip, especially for motorcyclists and cyclists, and can also throw up loose material."

Drivers should slow down and avoid braking hard or steering harshly, he adds.

"In these temperatures the advice remains never to leave passengers or animals unattended in parked cars even for short periods when the interior of the car can soon get as hot as an oven," King says.

Rozina Sini
BBC UGC journalist

We've been hearing from you through the day about how you're beating the heat - and how your pets are, too.

Becki Ive's cat Inca is keeping movement to a minimum while Becki works in her cabin in Shoreham By Sea in West Sussex. They're both sheltering next to the fan, which is running at full blast.

Image source, Supplied/Becky Ives

And Julie O'Hanlan's cat Riley has also opted for the fan method - they're both in the garden shed while they try to cool down.

Image source, Supplied/Julie O'Hanlon