Broadcast timeline
Channel 4 News
Thursday 13 August 2026 · 19:00 BST · 1h · 6 stories · 15 annotated moments · 48 of 60 min on news stories (80%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
Britain recorded its hottest day of the year, with 38.1 degrees Celsius at Kew, as an amber extreme heat warning covered central England. Wildfires broke out across the country, with major incidents declared in Stourbridge and South Wales, where fire services reported 30 incidents in a single day. The Royal College of Nursing warned that hospitals and care homes were becoming dangerously hot, and zoos adapted to care for animals. Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a COBRA meeting on adapting to extreme heat, while an economist discussed the climate trend and the government's upcoming decision on North Sea oil and gas licenses. A train derailment near Lewes in East Sussex left at least three carriages overturned, with two people seriously injured; the cause was unknown, though questions were raised about the heat's role.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers besieged Palestinian homes in the village of Khusra for five days, prompting a rare rebuke from America's ambassador to Israel, with the Israeli army eventually moving to clear the settlers. In the UK, A-level results showed record top grades for the third year running, but the attainment gap between London and regions like the North East and East Midlands widened, and boys outperformed girls for the second year. The government promoted an AI training scheme for young people not in education, employment, or training, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy visiting a session in Wigan. The President of the Police Superintendents Association, Nick Smart, described the criminal justice system as understaffed and overwhelmed, criticising plans for early prisoner release and calling for investment in policing. A report examined anti-immigrant riots in Northern Ireland, linking them to the legacy of past violence and noting that race-related crimes are at a record high. In Europe, French firefighting unions went on strike over working conditions, a large blaze in southern Spain burned over 30,000 acres, and low water levels on the Danube forced Romania's only nuclear power plant to shut down.
- 0:00 Story begins UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
- 0:48
Contested quote UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
Two of them have been this year, five of them in the past seven years, all of them since the turn of the millennium. This is not an aberration. It is a trend, an alarming one worsened by what we ourselves do and what we put in the atmosphere. Tonight there are fires alight across the country with major incidents declared and
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 0:48-0:58
- 1:50
Claim UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
The UK recorded its hottest day of the year on 13 August 2026, with a provisional peak of 38.1 degrees Celsius at Kew Gardens, the fifth hottest temperature ever recorded.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 1:50-2:00
- 6:19
Claim UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
The UK set or equalled the record for days above 30°C, with 34 or 35 days.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 6:19-6:32
- 6:39
Claim UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
Drought conditions are affecting half of England and all of Wales.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 6:39-6:46
- 8:18
Charged quote UK records hottest day of the year with 38.1C
caused by the burning of fossil fuels. But what was left out of that meeting has triggered frustration. The only thing that is talked about is possibly banning disposable barbecues. This was a moment for leadership and actually what we got was a monumental dereliction of duty. As wildfires continue to rage across the country,
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 8:18-8:24
- 14:07
- 14:17
Claim CrossCountry cancels trains after power cut at control centre
Two people were seriously injured, and 18 others were less seriously injured.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 14:17-14:25
- 14:17
Claim CrossCountry cancels trains after power cut at control centre
Two people were seriously injured, and 18 others were less seriously injured.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 14:17-14:25
- 15:10
Claim CrossCountry cancels trains after power cut at control centre
The train derailed just before 4pm on 13 August 2026.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 15:10-15:24
- 15:29
Claim CrossCountry cancels trains after power cut at control centre
Rail routes were closed and delays of up to 60 minutes were expected.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 15:29-15:48
- 15:56
- 16:25
Claim Teenager killed in West Bank clashes as settlements reopen
Israeli security forces clashed with settlers who had trapped two Palestinian families in their homes in the occupied West Bank.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 16:25-16:40
- 19:56 Story begins A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
- 20:17
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
A-level entries awarded A or A* rose for a third consecutive year, reaching 28.5%, up from 28.3%, the highest proportion on record outside pandemic-affected years.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 20:17-20:22
- 20:24
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
A-level entries awarded A or A* rose for a third consecutive year, reaching 28.5%, up from 28.3%, the highest proportion on record outside pandemic-affected years.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 20:24-20:29
- 20:35
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
The regional gap in top A-level grades reached a record high, with London at 32% and the North East and East Midlands at 23%.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 20:35-20:50
- 20:35
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
The regional gap in top A-level grades reached a record high, with London at 32% and the North East and East Midlands at 23%.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 20:35-20:45
- 29:05
- 30:01
Claim Government scraps early release for convicted killers after backlash
Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole, convicted of manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, were eligible for early release under the government's prison overcrowding scheme.
Channel 4, Channel 4 News, 13 August 2026, 30:01-30:08
- 33:49
- 48:17 ~12 min without annotations
Source: Channel 4, "Channel 4 News", Thursday 13 August 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.