Peter Gillibrand
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Supplied

Bricklayer Elijah knows a thing or two about working in the elements.

He spends every working day outside and tells BBC Newsbeat that getting through bad weather, be it cold or heat, is just “part of the job”.

“I tried to keep the complaining to a minimum because about ten months of the year, you're in rain and the cold,” he says.

He admits the heat has been “a lot to deal with”, adding: “We've been starting early, at like 06:30 or 07:00, and trying to get out by midday because by [that time], there's not much you can really do at that point.”

He's laying on water and ice lollies to help keep his employees cool but says “I tell people if they don't want to come in because of the heat don't bother, don't risk it".

Esyllt Carr
Business reporter, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Greggs has temporarily closed 11 stores today and tomorrow for the safety of staff and customers.

Staff at one London branch say employees have been moved from one shuttered store to others around capital, telling the BBC: “It's very hot. We have industrial ovens but no proper air conditioning in stores.”

The stores affected are: Aldridge, Wolverhampton, Luton, Gosport, Trowbridge, Barnet, Marlborough, Wantage, Dudley, Northampton and Leicester Square, London.

Jasmine Sandhar
BBC Newsbeat

Emery, 17 from Gloucester, is having a good afternoon.

The ice cream man is out with his dad and says customers are coming out on "almost every street" during their rounds, with the heat being “good for money and for the business".

But there are costs too - everything in the van is plugged in overnight to keep it cool for the next day.

During scorching days, they make sure to keep the windows open and have a vent in place to stop their 99s and lollies becoming puddles.

The family also run a burger van but that’s taking a back seat this week. Emery says: "You have the air fryers coming up for 120 degrees. My co-worker’s shirt was drenched in sweat."

Over on BBC Radio 5 Live, chef Luke in Colchester says the heat is "an occupational hazard" and they "have to get on with it" adding: "We have hot lamps that are running from midday to midnight.

"Ovens running at 200 degrees all day. Gas ring burners with pans on. It’s like working next to a radiator, in a radiated kitchen."

Sue, a nurse from Blandford, just finished a night shift and has no idea how she'll get to sleep.

She says there is no air conditioning in her hospital building and they are handing out drinks by each bed to keep everyone hydrated.

Andrew, a head teacher of a primary school in Tottenham, says it's hard balancing the risk of having children in schools and the risks of sending them home.

He adds that buildings at the school "aren’t designed to handle this weather" and they don't have much shade in playgrounds "to keep people safe".

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent

There's been a rare summer warning from Britain's electricity grid operator as the heatwave puts more pressure on our power system.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has put out what's called an "Electricity Margin Notice" for this evening, which means it is asking those generating electricity to make extra capacity available.

Such notices are normally seen in the winter, when our demand for electricity ramps up as we warm our homes on those cold, dark evenings.

Seeing one during a heatwave is unusual.

The pressure comes from both the supply and demand sides during the hot weather.

The warm, still conditions tend to suppress wind output, while high temperatures reduce the efficiency of solar panels and conventional power plants.

At the same time, demand can rise due to the extra electricity needed for air conditioning.

NESO stresses that this does not mean that blackouts are likely, or that there is too little power to keep the lights on, and it will review the situation through the day.

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Meteorologists here in the Met Office operations centre are very busy analysing huge quantities of weather data and observing closely how conditions are developing across the UK.

The forecasters here tell me the forecast is going as expected today, with temperatures rising quickly and humidity staying very high.

The next weather hazard they are looking into is the potential for some severe thunderstorms with large hail and the possibly onset of gale force gusts of wind for south-west England during Thursday night - a yellow warning has just been issued.

Image source, Met Office

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms in south-west England on Thursday.

It will come into force between 18:00 and 23:59 BST, covering all of Cornwall and much of Devon.

Image source, House of Commons

Over in the House of Commons, the heatwave has just come up during this week's Prime Minister's Questions.

Responding to Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, Keir Starmer says the changing climate is "one of the most significant challenges of our time".

The prime minister says it used to be "common ground" that climate change was a "generational challenge", but that it is a "shame that in order to chase Reform votes" the Conservatives have "changed their minds".

"I will always maintain that we must be global leaders on climate change and we always will be," Starmer adds.

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

There's no set temperature at which schools are told they need to close in a heatwave - that decision is made on a case-by-case basis.

I asked Tim Warneford, whose consultancy helps schools obtain funding for their buildings, whether he expected quite so many to do so.

"I think it was a ticking time bomb," he replies, since England's ageing school estate was "not built to withstand the temperatures that we are now facing and are likely to face into the future".

"New buildings, we hope, will be designed sufficiently well that will reduce that risk, but the overwhelming number of our stock is going to require retrofit - and therefore that's going to require a certain amount of money," he adds.

A big problem is that many schools built in the 1950s and 1960s have "almost floor-to-ceiling windows" which trap in heat and are challenging to ventilate.

He adds that only schools built in the past decade or so are likely to have been designed with air conditioning units - and warns that some of those may not even be up and running because they're expensive to maintain.

Chris Fawkes
BBC Weather

Last night was the warmest on record for some UK sites, including at Brize Norton (Oxfordshire) where temperatures only fell to 22.3C - what is known as a tropical night.

From this warm and humid start, temperatures are rocketing upwards. Even before midday we've reached 31.6C at Thorney Island (Hants).

The June record of 35.6C is going to get smashed later this afternoon, with highs of 37 or 38C likely around 15:00 BST in southern England.

This would put us well inside the top ten hottest days ever recorded in the UK.

Global heating is to blame for such unprecedented heatwaves. You may remember that last month the May record was pulverised by well over 2C - it's clear that our climate has changed.

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent

Image source, Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

A meeting in London on how to adapt to extreme heat has fallen victim to the very thing it was seeking to tackle.

The session, scheduled at the London School of Economics during London Climate Action Week, was due to explore how countries and cities are responding to rising temperatures around the world.

But organisers cancelled the event after the Met Office issued a red extreme heat warning.

Chris Anderson from Practical Action, who was due to take part in the event, says: “We're fully in favour of the decision, for the wellbeing of attendees and panellists.

“But it shows that extreme weather is becoming unpredictable and moving faster than people can adapt, even in the richest countries.”

Beth Rose
Disability affairs reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As temperatures rise, the effectiveness of medications can change.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says heat damage can break down active ingredients in medicine.

That can stop or alter how much the body absorbs when it comes to tablets, inhalers, hormone patches, insulin, blood glucose monitors and EpiPens.

Dr Alison Cave, MHRA’s chief safety officer, says some medicines can also make you more likely to "burn in the sun, feel dizzy, or get dehydrated", especially if you’re taking diuretics or have a condition like asthma, heart disease or diabetes.

She says most medicines need to be stored at temperatures below 25C - but cars, trains and even bags and pockets could get warm enough to cause problems and keeping them in a cool bag could be useful.

She adds: "If your medicine has changed colour, developed an unusual smell, changed texture, or looks different in any way, this could signal heat damage. Ask your pharmacist for advice."

Does the warm weather have an impact on the economy?published at 11:53 BST

11:53 BST

Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor

As some trains grind to a halt - is the economy in danger of doing the same?

The answer is no - after all, whatever the disruption, most of us are still working.

And while events are being cancelled, that activity may simply be displaced if they are rescheduled. Equally, other forms of spending - on fans, ice cream and extra childcare if you’re dealing with school closures - may rise.

So, however tempting, it’s impossible to put a reliable number on this.

In the grand scheme of things, short-lived weather events don’t tend to shift the dial much in terms of overall GDP. But economic activity may be a bit sluggish overall for a few days as the temperature rises.

Miho Tanaka
Senior climate journalist

Image source, Gwyndaf Hughes/BBC

The Engine Room in Tottenham Hale normally serves as a community centre for local residents to get together for walks, and arts and crafts.

But this week it is serving another purpose - a “cool space”.

One of dozens designated across the capital offering respite from heat for residents, mostly elderly people.

The spaces have air conditioning systems, seating, free drinking water and bathrooms.

Frederica Roberts, tells the BBC the centre offers them ‘”absolute tranquillity” away from the “hustle and bustle”.

Her friend, Marion Wilson, jokes that spending time at the centre offers them “a relief especially with half of us that are menopausal. If you have that and you have heat, it's not good to be around us”.

Rory Bibb
Reporting from London

Johnny is a construction worker on a site in London where temperatures are already soaring.

He says: "It’s horrible. You’re outside all day and there’s no let up. We might be going home early, but there’s work to be done."

"We're all hot, and we're all in the same boat. No one's dropped down, touch wood,” he adds.

UK employers are issued health and safety advice on how to protect outdoor workers in these sorts of conditions.

But there is no legal maximum temperature at which work has to stop as there is elsewhere, meaning it's business as usual for people in industries like construction and farming.

Another amber weather warning has just been issued by the Met Office.

It will come into effect between 00:00 and 21:00 on Saturday, covering parts of southern and eastern England.

Image source, Met Office

Image source, Getty Images

Europe's ongoing heatwave is expected to continue on Wednesday.

France is experiencing another day of exceptionally hot weather, with more than half the country remaining under a red heat alert on Wednesday.

It comes after the country experienced its hottest June day since records began on Tuesday, with an average temperature of 29.8C (85.54F) recorded.

Temperatures are expected to peak in the Netherlands and Belgium on Friday, while Germany is expected to see the mercury rise to 40C (104F) over the weekend.

Image source, BBC Weather

Ben Rich
Lead weather presenter

The Met Office has been issuing extreme heat warnings since 2021 – and this is only the second time that a red warning that has been issued since then.

The first was in July 2022, when the UK set its new all-time temperature record of 40.3C.

When the Met Office issues weather warnings it takes two things into account: how likely it is that severe weather will happen, and what impact that weather is likely to have.

A red warning is issued when there is a high likelihood that severe weather will have a high impact, and that is definitely the case with this heatwave.

There is a risk of health impacts across the population and a threat of significant disruption to power networks and transport services.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The National Rail website is warning passengers not to travel to, from, or within the red weather warning zone unless absolutely necessary.

The Met Office has previously warned that rail journeys are among the daily activities that could be impacted by the extreme heat.

A number of rail operators have altered their services, in response to the heat, alongside warnings that there could also be short-notice changes or alterations.

The operators listed on the National Rail website as having disruptions, ticket changes or travel advice are:

• Avanti West Coast
• c2c
• Chiltern Railways
• CrossCountry
• East Midlands Railway
• Elizabeth line
• Gatwick Express
• Great Northern
• Greater Anglia
• Great Western Railway
• Heathrow Express
• London Northwestern Railway
• London Overground
• LNER
• Merseyrail
• Northern
• Southeastern
• Southern
• South Western Railway
• Stansted Express
• Thameslink
• TransPennine Express
• Transport for Wales
• West Midlands Railway

Grand Central, Hull Trains, Lumo and ScotRail are all operating on a normal timetable with no planned alternations, but passengers have been advised to check before they travel in case of short notice alterations.