Canal stretches across England and Wales have been left dry as Britain swelters through a summer that could yet become the hottest on record.
More than 30 parts of the 2,000-mile canal network have been shut to stop boaters navigating dangerously low water levels, with officials cautioning that further closures may follow if intense heat persists through August.
The disruption follows a Met Office warning that 2026 could overtake the famously long, scorching summer of 1976, which remains the UK’s hottest on record when measured by the highest average daily maximum temperature.
Forecasters have issued a rare 15-hour amber “extreme heat” warning for southern and central England from 9am tomorrow, marking only the second alert of its kind in four years.
The UK Health Security Agency has also placed the whole of England under an amber heat health alert until Friday night, warning that the conditions could lead to a “rise in deaths”.
With rainfall scarce after the driest July since records began in 1836, and high temperatures accelerating evaporation, the Canal and River Trust has been forced to bring in tough restrictions to conserve water.
The charity, which manages the canal network, is asking boaters to abandon any non-essential trips and to share locks — the water-filled chambers that lift or lower vessels between canal sections at different levels.
To reduce water use further, it has temporarily relaxed rules preventing boaters from mooring in the same spot for more than two weeks.
The Grantham Canal (pictured) at Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, has dried up in the heat
Other scorched areas of the canal network include the Montgomery Canal at Llanymynech (pictured)
A Canal and River Trust spokesperson said: ‘To help support the canals for as long as possible, we’re actively managing our water holdings, which means in some places we’re having to temporarily close stretches of canal to navigation, or introduce reduced opening hours.
‘We know this can be hugely frustrating for both boaters and canal businesses, and we thank them for their understanding during these challenging times.’
Dried-up areas of the canal network include the Montgomery Canal at Llanymynech, and the Grantham Canal at Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire.
Meanwhile, the Grand Union Canal in Leicestershire has a partially exposed canal bed due to low water levels, making it impassable.
It follows weeks of hosepipe bans across Britain due to near-constant heatwaves in recent months, with residents banned from watering their gardens, filling up paddling pools and washing their cars.
The summer of 1976 is the hottest on record when judging the weather by the highest average daily maximum temperature. However, if the rest of August stays as warm as it has been in recent weeks, 2026 will become the hottest summer.
Southern Water warned more than 100,000 people in Hampshire will be hit by shortages unless a ban on filling public swimming pools and other non-essential water uses is put in place.
Andy Burnham’s new Environment Secretary, Angela Eagle, has a month to approve or reject the proposal.
The Prime Minister is set to chair an emergency Cobra committee meeting this afternoon in response to the extreme heat – as Britain braces for one of its hottest days on record tomorrow.
Mr Burnham will meet with ministers, officials and agencies as the sixth heatwave of the year builds with 33C forecast today and up to 38C tomorrow.
He said he is ‘certainly going to consider’ a ban on disposable barbecues as the extreme heat continues.
Meanwhile, rail operators have warned against non-essential travel, with several having already cancelled services as passengers were told to brace for major disruption.
People took to social media to discuss the dried-up Grantham Canal at Cotgrave
Another local took a photo of the dried Grantham Canal to show how little water was left
Workmen take advantage of low water levels to carry out works on Grantham Canal
A worker from Hollow Ponds Row Boat Hire stands in the exposed, cracked and dried mud bed of Hollow Pond, where the water levels have significantly dropped, in east London
East Midlands Railway and Chiltern Railways told customers to ‘only travel if essential’ tomorrow – while reduced services were confirmed by c2c, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, Northern, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway.
The whole of England has been put under an amber heat health alert until Friday night, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warning of increased risk of death.
A 38C high tomorrow would make it Britain’s joint fifth hottest day on record – tying with that same temperature in Norfolk on June 26, which is the current 2026 high.
It comes as a firefighter union chief warned Britain faces a ‘national emergency’ amid ongoing wildfires, with the country on course for its hottest summer on record.
Some 45 million people across England are now in drought-stricken areas, and 27 million customers are under hosepipe bans as rivers and reservoirs run low.
Parts of southern England including Hampshire and West Sussex have now gone 60 days without rainfall, and there are no downpours in the immediate forecast.
Ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Home Office and Department for Health will attend today’s Cobra meeting.
The Environment Agency will also be present at the discussions – the second Cobra meeting this year on heatwaves after another during similar weather in June.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the Government understood firefighters, farmers and NHS staff were all facing challenges connected to the weather.
