The Cobra meeting will be attended by ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Home Office, and Department for Health, as well as the Environment Agency.
It will be the second Cobra meeting this year on heatwaves, after one took place amid high temperatures in June.
A spokesperson for No 10 said this summer was proving “challenging” in the UK, particularly for “firefighters tackling wildfires, farmers working in drought conditions, and NHS staff in busy A&E units”.
“We will continue to take the action needed to keep communities safe, protect water supplies and safeguard the environment,” they said.
The hottest weather this week is expected on Thursday across the Midlands, Eastern England, London and south-east England, Yorkshire and Humber.
Temperatures could potentially reach 38C which would equal the highest temperature of the summer so far recorded at Lingwood in Norfolk on 26 June.
This would be the hottest August day since 2003, when 38.5C was recorded.
It is also likely to be the fourth calendar month this year to record 35C or more, which is unprecedented.
On Monday, drought officials declared 71.3% of England in drought, meaning there are a total of 45 million people now living in a drought area, with more than 27 million facing water use restrictions.
Firefighters have responded to 966 wildfires across England and Wales this year, including 185 in the first 10 days of August, and 458 in July, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council.
A fire in the New Forest has been burning since Sunday, which started after a van caught fire on the A31 near Ringwood.
Last week, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said the NHS should be “preparing for summer pressures now in the same way we prepare for winter”.
She told LBC Radio plans were in place to respond to higher numbers of people coming in to A&E.
On Tuesday, the Met Office said this summer is on course to be the UK’s hottest since records began, with the mean temperature currently at 16.48C set to surpass the figure set just last year.
This is in line with evidence that summers are getting hotter and are likely to become drier because of climate change.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the Cobra meeting was just a first step, and a “climate emergency” had led to hundreds of deaths and was “stretching our firefighters, health staff and farmers to the limit”.
He called for “concrete action” and said he looked forward to hearing how Burnham intended to “prepare for the threats to come”.


