How UK Heatwaves Cancelled Over 1,000 NHS Surgeries and Closed 1,700 Schools

More than 1,100 NHS operations were cancelled due to heat during the UK's record-breaking May and June 2026 heatwaves, according to a Carbon Brief investigation based on freedom-of-information requests to 140 NHS trusts in England and Wales. The toll included 167 orthopaedic surgeries such as knee and hip replacements, plus heart, eye, and skin cancer operations. Most alarmingly, at least 10 emergency surgeries for life-threatening conditions were also scrapped.

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