According to Reuters, the number of people dead in Britain this year because of the extremely hot weather are already close to the 2022 record. UK health authorities estimate 2,877 heat-linked deaths so far this year, nearly double the total for all of 2025 and close to the 2,985 deaths recorded in 2022.
It was the warmest June on record in England, and the toll follows repeated record-breaking heatwaves, with the fourth in full effect this week. Britain has already gone through several unusually hot periods this year, including record spring temperatures, and the June heatwave triggered a rare red heat-health alert.
Health agencies warn this is becoming a structural risk, not a one-off. Older people and those with underlying conditions are most vulnerable, while the NHS is facing growing summer pressure as hot weather becomes longer, more frequent, and more extreme.
