There’s a very much earned stereotype that British festivals take place in muddied fields where main stage acts perform before rain-soaked crowds. But anyone who’s been to a UK festival in the past few years will know that’s not the case.
Intense heat is become a major issue for the festival industry. And as climate change continues to change our shared landscapes, festivals are needing to react to a rapidly accelerating problem.
We may only be in mid-June, but the UK has already experienced two major heatwaves – as we type this, the UK could experience highs of 40-degrees throughout the week. 2025 was England’s hottest June on record, while this June the Met Office issued red extreme heat warnings for the UK. The UK’s Green Party recently called on the government to introduce a temperature cap for workers as British roads literally begin to melt. But perhaps something that will force both the public and politicians to wake up to the severity of what we’re facing here is the news that Harry Styles has had to make changes to his live show to combat the heat.
This is all happening in the midst of the festival season, where audiences spend long hours standing in open fields or are tightly packed into late-night venues. Fundamentally, extreme heat is a problem that’s only getting worse, and festivals need to be ready.
To ask how and why we speak with Paul Knightley, senior weather risk manager for EU weather operations at DTN consultancy. Here, Paul talks on how the festival climate is changing in a very literal way, and why the industry must adapt now.
“Extreme heat is an increasingly common operational and safety challenge for outdoor events. The UK has already experienced temperatures above 40-degrees, and climate projections show that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more intense and lasting longer. As that happens, festivals need to recognise heat as a foreseeable operational and health risk that requires planning and mitigation.
For festivals, that means heat should be considered alongside other major weather risks such as high winds, thunderstorms and flooding. Heat affects not only attendee comfort but also public safety, workforce welfare, medical demand and site operations.
From a meteorological perspective, the challenge is that heat often develops over several days, meaning its impacts can build gradually. Festival-goers may spend hours exposed to direct sunlight, often while walking long distances, consuming alcohol, sleeping in tents and standing in crowded environments. These factors can quickly turn a warm day into a serious health risk.
This trend is reflected in DTN’s Weather Risk in Event Operations study, which found that 58% of event professionals believe weather risk is higher today than it was five years ago. 94% also reported weather impacting their operations in some form.
This is not to say organisers are failing to deal with heat. Instead, it shows that the industry’s challenge is no longer responding to isolated hot days but adapting to a future where extreme heat becomes a more regular part of festival operations.
Heat affects everyone differently, but the risks are significant across the board.
For audiences, the main concerns are dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, fainting and the worsening of underlying health conditions. Long periods of standing, alcohol consumption and limited sleep can all increase vulnerability.
For performers, high temperatures can affect physical performance, particularly when combined with stage lighting, heavy costumes and demanding sets. For crew members, who are often working long shifts in PPE, lifting equipment and building stages, heat can increase fatigue, reduce concentration and raise the risk of accidents or illness. These workers are often among the most vulnerable.
There are two main reasons why extreme heat is becoming a greater long-term problem for festivals to handle.
The first is climate change, which is increasing the likelihood, intensity and duration of heatwaves across the UK. Temperatures that would once have been considered exceptional are becoming more common. The second is the nature of festivals themselves. Most take place during the warmest months of the year and are often located in open fields or exposed sites with limited natural shade.
This is not a one-off issue, and the industry is recognising that heat should be considered during the planning stage rather than managed reactively once people begin experiencing difficulties.
On a smaller scale, festivals can increase access to free drinking water, create shaded rest areas, provide cooling or misting zones and make sunscreen available. For crews, measures can include adjusting shift patterns, increasing rest opportunities and monitoring workers for signs of heat stress.
On a larger scale, organisers should incorporate heat into formal event risk assessments and emergency planning. This could include designing sites with more shade, expanding welfare and medical facilities, creating dedicated cooling areas, increasing water resilience and ensuring heat-response procedures are built into operational plans.
One of the most important tools is professional weather monitoring. Having access to accurate forecasts and clearly defined heat thresholds allows organisers to make informed decisions before conditions become dangerous. This includes monitoring the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, which provides a more complete measure of heat stress by factoring in temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed.
Event teams are also bringing weather intelligence directly into their operational workflows through platforms such as DTN Weather Hub, allowing them to link forecast conditions to specific actions and response plans before heat-related issues begin to emerge.
But there is still work to do. A recent report by DTN found that 60% of organisations have a formal weather risk plan, yet 58% still identified clearer decision thresholds and triggers as one of their biggest needs. That suggests the industry understand the risk but is still working to translate weather information into operational decisions.
UK festivals have historically focused more heavily on rain, mud and wind-related disruption while heat has often been viewed as a secondary concern. I’d like to see this change to recognise extreme heat formally as a core event safety consideration, rather than an emerging issue.
Heat management plans should become as routine as crowd management plans, fire safety procedures or food hygiene requirements. Organisers should have clearly defined heat thresholds and documented responses in place before an event begins.
In a warming climate, the most resilient festivals will be those that treat heat as a foreseeable risk and design their operations accordingly, rather than waiting until temperatures become dangerous before taking action.“
The post ‘This is not a one-off issue’: DTN’s EU weather expert Paul Knightley on how extreme heat is impacting festivals appeared first on Festival Insights.
