The United Kingdom is preparing for its fifth heatwave of the year as temperatures climb again across the country. On Sunday, Frittenden in Kent recorded 30.6°C, pushing the total number of days with temperatures of 30°C or higher this year to 35. That figure has now broken the previous record of 34 days set back in 1995.
Forecasters say conditions will grow even warmer next week. Parts of East Anglia and southeast England could reach around 36°C by Thursday. Monday is expected to feel a little cooler before the heat builds once more. While much of the country bakes under clear skies, northwest Scotland is set for a different picture with heavy rain possible.
The combination of repeated heatwaves and long dry spells is already hitting British farming hard. July was the driest on record according to the Met Office, leaving fields parched. Suffolk farmer John Pawsey described how the drought seemed endless. When his team finally brought the combines into the fields, yields of oats, wheat and other crops came in 25 to 30 percent lower than expected.
Pawsey, whose family has worked the same land for generations, admitted he worries about the years ahead. Yet he also sees room for change. His organic farm has begun testing crops better suited to warmer and drier weather, such as fava beans and chickpeas. He is also trying methods that pair different plants in the same field so they compete and grow stronger together.
Food security expert Timothy Benton agrees that farming systems need to adapt. He argues that more diverse and circular approaches would make food production more resilient and less reliant on imports of fruit, vegetables and fertilisers. Climate impacts are expected to grow stronger, he warned, so the way food is grown and brought to market will have to evolve.
Farmers across England are now calling for greater support to make these transitions. The latest stretch of high temperatures is a clear reminder that extreme weather is no longer rare. With another heatwave on the way, both growers and consumers are watching the skies and the fields with growing concern about what the rest of the season may bring.
