Most deaths will have occurred in the June heatwave, experts say, when a rare red heat alert was issued.

Bottled water stations were set up in Kent after the region experienced supply disruptions in May's hot weather More than 2,700 people may have died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during the exceptionally hot weather in May and June, experts' estimates suggest. The figure, from a team at Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is based on what's known about the dangers of extreme heat. Most deaths will have occurred in the June heatwave, they say - the warmest June on record in England, when temperatures hit 37.7C (99.9F) at Lingwood, Norfolk, smashing the previous high of 35.6C set in 1957. A rare red heat alert, external was issued for parts of England and Wales at the time, warning even healthy people of the significant risk to life. The study estimates that around 550 people died as a result of the heat between 21 and 29 May, and nearly 2,200 died between 18 and 28 June in England and Wales. May temperatures hit a new UK high of 35.1C at Kew Gardens on May 26 – a significant increase on the previous high mark of 32.8C, which had been set back in 1922 and equalled in 1944. Both heatwaves were caused by a "heat dome" - a stalled area of high pressure that trapped hot air over the region, say experts.