Revealed: England’s June 2026 heatwave sparked record demand for ambulances

England’s June 2026 heatwave led to record demand for ambulances, according to data obtained by Carbon Brief. Temperatures in the country reached over 37C, prompting authorities to declare only the second ever “red” extreme heat warning. Four out of ten NHS ambulance services, including London’s, responded to unprecedented numbers of life-threatening emergencies on at least one day between June 23-27.

Another two services in the south-west and east of the country received their highest volume of 999 calls on record. Ambulance services provided data on their busiest days upon receiving freedom-of-information (FOI) requests, which revealed how demand during the heatwave exceeded levels seen during the traditionally busy winter season in other years, and even during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic for many services.

Brief written by urgent.news from Carbon Brief's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.