tonight at ten: an unprecedented red weather warning is now in force, covering many parts of england. the intense heatwave is affecting most of the uk, the highest temperature of the day was recorded in a village in suffolk. on the south coast of england, packed beaches despite warnings to keep out of the sun, and a royal reminder that climate change will lead to more frequent extremes. as i've tried to indicate for quite some time, the climate crisis really is a genuine emergency. tackling it is utterly essential. the intense heat has caused problems on runways and on railways, but problems are even worse in other parts of europe. wildfires continue to spread in southern france, as well as in spain,

portugal and greece. up in the woods you can see guys tackling the fires. there is a huge amount of activity down here and it is hot, it is smoky. just look at the haze in the trees. we'll have details from france, and the uk, including flintshire — which recorded the highest—ever temperature in wales. one other main story tonight... the race to be conservative leader and next prime minister is down to four, with rishi sunak still in the lead. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel: simply the rest — ben stokes will retire from one day international cricket after tuesday's series opener with south africa. welcome to bbc news at ten.

the intense heatwave affecting many parts of britain has triggered an extreme red weather warning for most of england, meaning an actual threat to life. it's putting the health service under pressure and it's caused disruption for many travellers. the heatwave is due to reach its point of greatest danger tomorrow afternoon. wales has experienced its hottest—ever day and more records are expected to be broken in the next 2a hours. the red weather warning is unprecedented — it covers much of england including manchester, london and leeds. an amber warning applies to the rest of england, all of wales, and southern scotland. temperatures have been recorded in the 30s in all four nations of the uk, much higher than would normally be expected in july. and the village of santon downham in suffolk saw the highest temperature in the uk today at 38.1 degrees celsius. let's join our correspondent daniela relph for the latest.

i daniela relph for the latest. am in central london it i am in central london where we know it isjust after ten i am in central london where we know it is just after ten o'clock in the evening where the sun set around an hour ago. yet the temperatures here are still at around 31 celsius. it has been a day of searingly hot weather that has tested the resilience of so many others. keeping cool any way possible. normal everyday life has had its challenges today. in central london, some still braved an open top bus tour, while others coped with the intense city heat in a more traditional way. we've had ice pops, we've had ice creams, we've had slushies, we've had smoothies. so the first few drinks. we've just taken on plenty of water, staying in the shade as much as we can, and just making sure to... and having a wee dip. and having a wee dip, keeping the fluids up, so. we've got a lot of water inside and i've been giving it to them pouring it over your head,

you know, trying to make sure that they're active to be able to go around the city. engineers have been fixing the runway at luton airport where heat caused surface damage. flights have now resumed after being suspended this afternoon. the parched landscapes of southern and eastern england vividly tell the story of this heat wave. the ground in cambridge, dry and brittle as the weather takes its toll and these conditions come with risks. a 16—year—old lost his life here on bray lake near maidenhead in berkshire. he is the fourth person to die in recent days after getting into difficulty in open water. this evening, another teenager is missing in the river thames at richmond in surrey. there's a particular message, particularly for the teenagers children, some of those who may be tempted to go for a swim. there's significant dangers of that. quite often when people go swimming in rivers when we have very hot weather. for many, today has been about shifting the usual routine.

this building site in dagenham in essex limited the amount of time teams worked outside. over in the middle east, whether that be dubai or any where else, buildings are built. no one stops because of the sun. if anything, we'd rather work in these conditions than when it's raining. and did you ever think of not working today? and we gave the option for people not to work and not to come in this week and next week. and everybody says no, of course, the weather is not going to phase us. building work still has to happen and it's not going to make a difference. so here we are. the prince of wales and duchess of cornwall experienced the high temperatures on a visit to cornwall. the prince used a speech to reinforce his long term interest in tackling climate change. if i may say so, these commitments around net zero have never been more vitally important as we all swelter under today's alarming record temperatures across britain and europe. and as i've tried to indicate for quite some time, the climate crisis really is a genuine emergency.

7:00 this evening — the seafront in hove was undergoing its own version of rush hour. packed beaches, taking advantage of some end of day sunshine as we all try to find our own ways of managing in these extreme temperatures. daniela relph, bbc news. it's the first time the met office has issued a red warning since the system was introduced last year. it means that �*widespread impacts on people and infrastructure' are expected with �*substantial changes in working practices and daily routines'. among the places badly affected were schools, care homes and zoos as our north of england correspondent danny savage reports from doncaster. right, year 4, it is ourfirst break time of the day. we are going to go outside and enjoy... at this primary school in doncaster things were looking up for year 4 this morning... needed ice pops. ..an early break outside,

but with some restrictions. on the parched grass, they had to stay in the shade, no running around. i understand it, if we're running around in the sun, we might actually get poorly and we might get sunburnt and it might hurt us. you can tell there's been a lack of rain. j at lunchtime, we're going to keep the children in altogether- because obviously it's midday, the sun's at its hottest- and we think it's safer for them| just to stay inside at that point. but it's quite nice getting out- for some outdoor learning as well, this morning in the shade. at thornhill house care home near barnsley, they were doing everything they could to keep the residents cool and safe. there were drinks everywhere, along with more ice lollies and salad on the menu rather than cooked meals. the residents have said they want more salads and things like that over the next day or two. is that a good thing, working in a kitchen, a bit less heat? well, yeah, because you've not got have the cooker on in these degrees. so yeah, that's good that they want salad, yeah, healthy as well. but convincing the elderly to stay

indoors isn't always easy. some of them can be quite stubborn, but in the end, like they know we're doing it for what's best for them and they do listen, they're good. bless them. by lunchtime, doncaster was one of the hottest places in the north of england. the local wildlife park had closed to all visitors so they could concentrate on animal welfare, like chucking ice cubes to the polar bears. the bears, they're sort of like primary concern in this heat. you know, we want to make sure that everyone's as safe as possible and the decision was for the safety of the workers here today, the public and, you know, our animals, we want to make sure everyone's saying safe. as the heat built, trains were ordered to go slow, 20 miles per hour in places in yorkshire. this is the east coast main line at doncaster and this train is heading north to inverness, already running about an hour late because of speed restrictions. and tomorrow with the temperatures forecast to be even hotter, lner are running no services

on the east coast main line south of leeds and york. other operators, including lumo and grand central, will also not be operating services on the line south of newcastle tomorrow. there's already been a record number of wildfires in england and wales this summer. this one near wakefield added to the total this afternoon. danny savage, bbc news, doncaster. the overwhelming consensus among scientists is that climate change is increasing the likelihood of exceptional heatwaves in britain, where people are not used to such high temperatures. weather experts say the heatwaves are becoming more intense, more frequent and that temperatures of a0 degrees celsius are now far more likely in the uk. our climate editorjustin rowlatt is here to explain more. thanks, huw. so first off, as much of the country endures record temperatures,

the obvious question is why is it so hot? that's simple... southerly winds are bringing hot air up from africa which is helping drive the brutal heatwave spain, portugal and france have been enduring. those same southerly winds have now brought that blistering heat here to the uk. what makes it worse is a weather system called a heat dome. it sits like the lid on a pot over europe. the sun heats the air, but it remains stuck within the dome so it's pushed back down to the parched earth, raising temperatures higher and higher. we're not ruling out further heat waves, continental europe is very hot at the moment and the northern hemisphere is really hot. there's heat waves in the united states, heat waves in china, and it's certainly looking like this summer's going to be much warmer and we're going to see a lot less precipitation than we usually see. how does this compare with the past? 1976 is perhaps the uk's most famous heatwave. temperatures hit almost 36 degrees,

so lower than today, but the hot weather went on for days and days. and extreme heat is getting more common. of the top ten hottest days since the victorian era when records began, seven are in the last 20 years. and remember, this is all happening atjust over one degree of global warming. so what about the future? well, first off, we don't yet know what this summer still has in store for us. the met office says it hasn't ruled out the possibility of more heatwaves this year. but climate scientists say we can certainly expect more heatwaves in the years to come. here's how hot the earth is now — a little more than one degree over what it was before the industrial era began and we started burning fossilfuels. the pink blush shows the hottest areas — look how the arctic is heating up.

as the ice melts, it exposes the dark sea which absorbs even more heat. this is what the world would look like at two degrees of warming. the arctic is way hotter now — look at that. at the moment, the world is on track to get a bit hotter than this if countries stick to the commitments they have made to cutting emissions. and what happens if they don't stick to their carbon cutting promises? well, if the world does nothing at all — the worst—case scenario — this is how things would look. temperatures are four degrees above pre—industrial levels and look how much more of the whole world is significantly hotter now. and that is why cutting greenhouse gases is so important. that's how we'll keep the number and intensity of future heatwaves to a minimum. huw. thank you very much.

health officials say the heat has put extra pressure on hospitals but so far they are coping. some older hospitals have taken the decision to cancel routine outpatient appointments and non—urgent surgeries because of the very high temperatures in operating theatres. our health editor hugh pym has spent the day at one hospital in south london. a memorable day for these parents, and notjust because their baby daughter had arrived. born this morning in a heatwave, they'd brought in their own fans to try to keep cool. i had my mum fanning me with a hand—held fan. i had my husband holding the fan right up to my face because i was sweating as i was pushing. so it's a lot of adjustments we've had to make, but we've made it. fantastic. and we're going to go in the ward now, aren't we, with it? here at st helier hospital, extra drinks for patients to keep them hydrated were being delivered. dahlia was one who was relieved to have a regular supply

brought to her bed. there's always cold water for it, and they put ice cubes- in there when they change it and put ice cubes in, lollies, ice creams. - but dealing with the heat is very difficult. the buildings predate the start of the nhs in 19118. there's no air conditioning. as we're standing here now, this actual prefab building, it's a bit like a greenhouse. so it's at additional temperatures despite all of the windows and us trying to do everything in our power to reduce the temperature. staff need to be continuously hydrated. our patients have to be hydrated. so tiring very, very easily in these extreme temperatures. it's the middle of the day, and it's already 30 degrees here in a&e. the heat has added to the extreme pressure seen in units like this and increased the strain on staff. so another busy day. doctors here are concerned that based on previous experience, a heatwave can store up problems which last more than a few days.

the impact of heat on long—term conditions lasts for many days, even when the temperature has dropped. so we're anticipating an increased number of admissions and attendances today, but we will continue to see the impact on our services of this heatwave for 10—14 days forward. just getting some for the sixth floor, renal department. - ice lollies were free for staff at the hospital, and some were also taking them up for patients. they're complaining a lot that it's very hot and stuff. - the windows are fully open, i but ice lollies will treat them. nhs england said almost all services had continued to run, but they know that tomorrow will bring more heat and further challenges and pressures. hugh pym, bbc news, at st helier hospital, south london. the extreme heat has caused plenty of problems for travellers. luton airport suspended all flights this afternoon because of what it described as a �*surface defect�*

on its single runway. we saw a reference to that earlier. elsewhere, train services were cancelled and speed restrictions led to longerjourneys. but many people seem to have listened to warnings not to travel unless it�*s essential. our transport correspondent katy austin is at london�*s kings cross station tonight. just summarise for us what problems have been today.— have been today. train companies have been today. train companies have been today. train companies have been running _ have been today. train companies have been running reduced - have been today. train companies - have been running reduced timetables today and there have been plenty of delays and cancellations as the extreme heat has caused disruption on the rail network. the infrastructure is designed for these kinds of temperatures and although there have been speed restrictions in place to reduce the risk of problems, there have been a number of incidents where track has buckled and overhead lines have failed. a lot of people did heed advice not to

travel by train unless necessary but some trains towards the coast were packed and network rail is telling people do not go to the seaside by train tomorrow. fix, people do not go to the seaside by train tomorrow.— train tomorrow. a little bit more about the advice _ train tomorrow. a little bit more about the advice if _ train tomorrow. a little bit more about the advice if i _ train tomorrow. a little bit more about the advice if i can. - train tomorrow. a little bit more about the advice if i can. you - about the advice if i can. you mentioned that piece of advice there but what else are people being told about the days ahead? fisgdin but what else are people being told about the days ahead?— about the days ahead? again there will be a reduced _ about the days ahead? again there will be a reduced timetable - about the days ahead? again there will be a reduced timetable in - about the days ahead? again there | will be a reduced timetable in place tomorrow, so again it is a case of don�*t travel unless necessary. but there will be no trains at all running from london�*s kings cross up on the east coast main line to york and two leads. this evening a number of train companies running services on other routes where services go into the area is predicted to be the hottest tomorrow... the met office... hottest tomorrow... the met office- - -_ hottest tomorrow... the met office... ., ., . office... sorry, we have a glitch on the link to — office. .. sorry, we have a glitch on the linkto kt— office... sorry, we have a glitch on the link to kt but _

office... sorry, we have a glitch on the link to kt but we _ office... sorry, we have a glitch on the link to kt but we got _ office... sorry, we have a glitch on the link to kt but we got the - the link to kt but we got the message which is that people are being advised not to travel unless necessary. the problem is especially out of places like king�*s cross on the east coast main line. beware of that if you�*re planning to travel for whatever reason. clearly there will be quite a lot of problems on the way. let�*s move on to blooms and other parts of the world. other parts of europe are experiencing an even bigger heatwave with extreme temperatures and wildfires in spain, portugal and greece, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. in france, officials say the country is experiencing �*an apocalypse of heat�* as large wildfires burn in the south—west. our europe correspondent jessica parker has the latest. into the forest and the front line of an exhausting battle. one that today we were given special access to. up in the woods you can see guys

tackling the fires. there is a huge amount of activity, it is hot, smoky. look at the haze in the trees. the smoke thickens the further in we go. the flames are suddenly all too apparent. translation: the fire rekindles in many places. we had to be careful in these conditions. the vegetation is so dry here, and with temperatures flames reach up to 80 metres high. mung reach up to 80 metres high. along here we were _ reach up to 80 metres high. along here we were due _ reach up to 80 metres high. along here we were due to _ reach up to 80 metres high. along here we were due to reach - here we were due to reach an evacuated campsite by the coast but we never got there. things were getting worse. you could see it on the ground and in the sky. what obama one after the other flying over our heads. they never stop here, they cannot but soon we along

with others are told it is time to leave. back on the main road, the thousands of evacuations were plain to see. smoke means for many it is just not safe to stay. here at this centre you can at least take a moment. cool down. translation: it was very smoky this morning, it was very bad for the lungs. i prepared a grab bag. even the medications for my dogs were ready to go. for medications for my dogs were ready to .o, ., , ., medications for my dogs were ready to no. ., ,., �* , medications for my dogs were ready toao. ., ., medications for my dogs were ready toao. ., �*, ., ., ., to go. for some it's a matter of frantic phone — to go. for some it's a matter of frantic phone calls _ to go. for some it's a matter of frantic phone calls to _ to go. for some it's a matter of frantic phone calls to find - to go. for some it's a matter of frantic phone calls to find a - to go. for some it's a matter of. frantic phone calls to find a place to sleep tonight. who knows when they will get to go home. it to sleep tonight. who knows when they will get to go home.- they will get to go home. it can be an in a few — they will get to go home. it can be an in a few days, _ they will get to go home. it can be an in a few days, a few _ they will get to go home. it can be an in a few days, a few weeks. - they will get to go home. it can be an in a few days, a few weeks. we j an in a few days, a few weeks. we will try to make people come back to their house as soon as possible. france�*s wildfires seen from above are an alarming site. winds and over

40 are an alarming site. winds and over a0 degrees heat made for a destructive mix today. temperatures are set to drop tomorrow and for these men, that cannot come soon enough. how do things looked a night in south—western france? our europe correspondent lucy williamson is in the town of landiras in south—west france. lucy, what can you tell us? it has been a day _ lucy, what can you tell us? it has been a day of _ been a day of extraordinary temperatures here and a dozen records broken all along this western coast of france and that hasn�*t made the job of firefighters easier. they are tackling blazes in two broad areas. you saw one of them in jest�*s two broad areas. you saw one of them injest�*s report, this is the other one. we have beenjust down the road and the fire trucks are out there tonight still trying to tackle those blazes and get them under control. a total of over 30,000 people have been evacuated from these two areas,

more than 16,000 hectares of land have been destroyed and this afternoon we got news of a third blaze beginning in an area south of here. that meant resources had to be diverted to try and stamp that fire out before it also got out of control. temperatures are due to drop here tomorrow but because conditions are so dry and the winds are so changeable, fire chiefs are saying that may not bring immediate relief and they could where you�*ll be here this time tomorrow night still trying to get these fires under control.— there�*s plenty of information on the heatwave on bbc news online, including the latest travel advice, how hot it is where you are and tips on staying cool in the warmer weather. head to bbc.co.uk/news or use the bbc news app. in the latest round of the contest

for the conservative leadership, the former soldier tom tugendhat has been knocked out, leaving four candidates to succeed borisjohnson. rishi sunak led the pack again with 115 votes. penny mordaunt was second with 82 votes. liz truss secured 71 votes, while kemi badenoch took 58, mr tugendhat was last with 31 votes. over the next few days, the four will be reduced to a final two. following that, conservative party members will vote to decide on the winner. the result will be announced on september 5th, as our political editor chris mason reports. all talking at once. hubbub in a heatwave? democracy of sorts at dusk. i have the results of the third ballot... round three of conservative mps deciding who they want and who they don�*t want to be our

next prime minister. so tom tugendhat is eliminated from the election. the other candidates are able to go forward to a fourth ballot which will take place tomorrow... another defeated candidate, but this time not one willing to endorse anyone else, at least yet. thank you very much, that is the end of the road for me for this race. but look, it's been an amazing run. i'm incredibly proud of the team, i'm incredibly grateful to all the supporters who have been with me. the former chancellor, rishi sunak, is still the frontrunner, nearly doubling his lead over second placed penny mordaunt, who actually lost a vote, compared with round two. good morning. the foreign secretary, liz truss, finished third again, narrowing the gap to penny mordaunt. and here�*s who finished fourth — kemi badenoch on her way this morning to try to drum up more support. i�*m going to be fighting hard for every single vote and i�*m not taking anything for granted.

but i�*m optimistic, thank you. while tory mps voted upstairs, downstairs in the commons chamber, the start of borisjohnson�*s parliamentary swa nsong. defeated but demob happy, pointing out he crushed labour. we sent the great blue tory ferret so far up their left trouser leg, they couldn�*t move. we won the biggest conservative victory since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979. we�*ve won seats they never dreamed of losing. despite knowing that he'd been fired from job afterjob for lying, they elected him to lead their party. and he behaved exactly as everyone feared when he got into downing street. he lurched from one scandal to the next. let's reflect on a man _ who should never have been put in office in the first place.

a man that simply shouldn't be here for a minute longer, - because he demonstrated no dignity in office, in the highest— office in the land. and incidentally, what does an outgoing prime minister ejected by his own side do while waiting for his replacement? well, he appears to be enjoying some of the perks of high office filming himself here as a passenger in a war plane being refuelled mid air. the leadership race is something of a long haul. it will be seven weeks before we find out who boris johnson�*s success it is. incidentally there will be questions about the extreme weather and indeed about the extreme weather and indeed about climate change. there is one thing we can say for certain tonight, we have been in the habit in this country of getting white men to run the place. this time round, that isn�*t going to happen. thank

you. now a look at some other stories making the news today. the conservative police and crime commissioner for nottinghamshire has been banned from driving after she was caught speeding five times in 12 weeks. caroline henry was disqualified for six months and fined £2,500. the price of petrol has fallen from record highs at the start of the month, according to the aa motoring group. average pump prices are down to 188.76p per litre for petrol and 196.96p per litre for diesel. the aa said falling wholesale costs could lead to average savings of £10 on a full tank within a fortnight. emergency services are dealing with a blaze at a chemicals factory in cheshire. ten fire engines were sent at around 830 this evening. people are being told to keep their doors and windows closed with the public

staying away. football�*s governing body is to trial a ban on heading the ball, with a view to removing it from the game for children under 12 in england. the football association says it will apply for a law change from the 2023—2a season if the trial is successful. more on the main story, the heatwave, and wales in particular which has recorded its hottest day ever. the temperature reached 37.1 celsius in the village of penarlag, or hawarden, in flintshire. the heat is a particular challenge for farmers trying to keep their livestock cool, as our correspondent hywel griffith reports. if you�*re feeling hot and bothered, spare a thought for this highland cow far from home at the royal welsh show. chloe�*s hoping she can keep her cool for the competition. they�*re coping all right at the minute, touch wood. i mean, hopefully it just stays like this. there�*s a nice breeze coming

through now, but fingers crossed it all goes well. good luck. thank you. this is britain�*s biggest agricultural show, the first in three years due to the pandemic. roasting heat wasn�*t going to stop them. we've never actually got to the point where we would have cancelled the show. if that point would have come, we would have taken it seriously, but we were confident that we've got sufficient mitigations in place, working with our natural resources on site, lots of trees, lots of buildings. morgan�*s trying to keep his animals as happy as, well, pigs in muck. they can�*t sweat, so would normally be wallowing in mud. the animals are a little bit stressed. they�*re a little bit. you can tell by the way they�*re panting and the way they�*re constantly getting up, sitting down, getting up, sitting down, trying to roll and stuff. they are a little bit distressed by the heat. it�*sjust gone 3.00 in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day. and there�*s no escaping the warmth. but what you also notice is it feels quite quiet. normally there�*d be thousands more visitors, but it feels like some

people have stayed away to avoid the heat. staying in the shade seems to have been the solution. the new fans in the sheep sheds helped, too. it�*s just too hot, but it�*s not so bad. like, they�*ve put the new fans in, and there is a breeze, but it�*s just... it�*s just not quite enough. after a day of record temperatures in wales, tomorrow should bring cooler, if not quite balmy, weather. and for chloe, at least the heat of the contest ended with a win. hywel griffith, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. of course we all want to know what is likely. of course we all want to know what is likely. here�*s ben rich. good evening. what has been extraordinary is how widespread the heat has been. 38.2 degrees at

santon downham.