Car washes and swimming pools could shut due to drought - as temperatures set to pass 36C in fifth heatwave
Most heat health alerts in England have been upgraded as temperatures are set to hit 36C. Chessington World of Adventures theme park has also been forced to shut its doors following a water outage
Temperatures could reach 36C or higher this week as the Met Office considers issuing rare amber or red extreme heat warnings.
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Parts of the UK are set to see their fifth heatwave of the summer as the country continues to bake in an unprecedented period of dry, hot weather.
Monday will be slightly cooler before temperatures rise again on Tuesday.
In some areas of the country car washes and swimming pools could face a water ban.
Southern Water has imposed a ban in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on July 10 – but it could now go further by applying to the Government for a Drought Order and Non-Essential Use Ban (NEUB), which would affect businesses.
A NEUB would prevent companies from washing cars and windows with hosepipes or other mechanical devices, or filling non-domestic swimming or paddling pools.
Chessington World of Adventures has been forced to shut its doors following a water outage in the area.
The theme park announced the closure today and said that "all tickets booked for today will be automatically revalidated under our Return Promise and can be used on a future date."
Thames Water confirmed that a burst water main was impacting water services in the KT9 area.
Chessington World of adventures told visitors to not travel to the theme park today.
"We are sorry for any disappointment caused," the park said in a statement.
Forecasters have warned of possible impacts to railway lines and power networks, as well as health consequences for vulnerable people.
“We’ll probably see highs reaching the mid-30s quite widely on Wednesday, and indeed on Thursday too for England and Wales,” Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said.
“On Wednesday, probably the Midlands, maybe a little bit further south, the M4 corridor, west of London, up towards the Midlands, is where we might have a small chance of reaching 36C in one or two spots.
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“But Thursday at this stage looks the most likely hottest day of the week.
“So 36C is a fairly reasonable probability locally on Thursday and there’s a small chance it could get even higher than that.”
Half of England and all of Wales have been plunged into drought and more regions could be declared when officials meet at the National Drought Group on Monday.
Mr Morgan said: “If it wasn’t for this incredible summer that we’re currently seeing, then we’d be talking about these temperatures as being really, very unusual.
“But of course, we’ve had such an exceptional summer, people have become a bit used to it.
“There is a potential for impacts, so impacts to infrastructure, things like railway lines and power networks, impacts to vulnerable people as well.”
Health officials have warned of the effect on vulnerable people in the upcoming hot weather, with significant impacts possible in health and social care settings and a potential rise in deaths because of the heat.
Yellow heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency are in place for the East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, South West, East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, and London.
The alerts continue until 9pm on Tuesday, but may well be extended as the hot weather continues.
Meanwhile, the Met Office is considering issuing rare extreme heat warnings ahead of the scorching temperatures forecast later in the week.
“We sometimes issue extreme heat warnings, amber and red warnings, which we did back in June, so that’s under consideration at the moment,” Mr Morgan said.
More than 25 million people have restrictions on water use, the Environment Agency said, with millions under hosepipe bans, including all South East Water and Thames Water customers.
Another record is set to tumble this week after Sunday was the 34th day so far this year when temperatures exceeded 30C somewhere in the UK, equalling the record from 1995.
So far, the extreme weather of summer 2026 has included two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths.
Two more heatwaves in July, the driest July in England and Wales since records began in 1836, have fuelled drought and wildfires.
The European Union’s earth observation programme Copernicus said average temperatures across western Europe reached 21.61C (70.92F) for June-July, breaking the record set in 2022.
Globally, this year is just behind 2024 and 2025 as the third hottest year on record.