Edinburgh Woman Fights For Life After Clothes Fire

A woman is in critical condition following an incident where her clothes appeared to catch fire on a street in Edinburgh. The emergency services were alerted around 12:10 PM on Monday, June 22, 2026, to the report of a seriously injured woman outside flats on St Leonards Street. She was transported to a hospital by ambulance, where her condition is described as critical.

This incident occurred amidst record-breaking heat across the UK. On Wednesday, June 24, 2026, a provisional temperature of 35.7C in Charlwood, Surrey, surpassed previous records from 1976 and 1957. A rare red warning for extreme heat was issued by the Met Office for much of England and Wales. Experts link such increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves to climate change, noting the UK's lack of preparedness.

Separately, Britain's electricity grid operator had issued a temporary warning regarding potential strain on the power supply due to the heatwave. However, this warning was later cancelled. The National Energy System Operator had requested additional power generation for Wednesday evening due to concerns over the extreme temperatures.