The UK will this week experience another heatwave, which will last longer than July’s record-breaking hot spell, with highs of up to 35ºC expected, forecasters have said.
Temperatures are not expected to reach last month’s 43ºC but the dry weather will continue over a “prolonged period”, the Meteorological Office has said.
As high pressure builds over the coming week, it will bring sunshine and dry conditions to much of the country.
Parts of north-west Scotland may be cloudier and breezier up to Wednesday, but fine weather is expected for all areas of the country later in the week.
Sunday brought sunshine for most of Britain, with a high of 28.1ºC recorded in Frittenden, Kent.
“It will be a lot of sunshine for a vast majority of the UK and also temperatures rising day after day," said Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan.
“Not everyone will initially see those sunny conditions, but towards the end of the week even Scotland and Northern Ireland will join the rest of the UK in having generally fine, sunny and very warm if not hot conditions.
“It does look like a prolonged period of dry weather and obviously that’s bad news for southern England, where some rain would really be useful now.
“In terms of temperatures, we’re looking at them build from 28ºC or 29ºC tomorrow, to the low to mid-30s from Thursday onwards, so a fairly widespread heatwave developing across the UK this week.
“The peak of the temperatures look likely to occur on Friday or Saturday.”
Heatwave in the UK – in pictures
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People basking in the sun on a crowded Brighton beach. The temperature in Britain smashed through the 40ºC barrier for the first time in recorded history. PA -
A man dives into the Serpentine Lake to cool off in Hyde Park, west London. AFP -
Firefighters rest as they attend a gorse bush fire, near Zennor, Cornwall. Reuters -
A tourist wears a hat to shield herself from the sun on Westminster Bridge in central London. AP -
A man cools off at Trafalgar Square, central London. Reuters -
Firefighters respond to a large wildfire in woodland at Lickey Hills Country Park on the edge of Birmingham. PA -
A railway worker hands out bottles of water to passengers at London's King's Cross, where there are train cancellations due to the heat. AP -
Firefighters control a grass fire in Ravenswood, Suffolk. PA -
Train tracks are painted white to help with the heat at Alexandra Palace train station in London. PA -
Deer rest in the shade at London's Richmond Park. Reuters -
An empty freezer section at Sainsbury's Nine Elms in London. PA -
Chippy the chimpanzee enjoys an ice treat at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, near Stirling. AP -
A student dips her head into the fountain at Trafalgar Square, London. Getty Images -
People turn out to watch the sunrise on Tuesday morning at Cullercoats Bay, North Tyneside. PA -
A digital thermometer displaying a temperature of 39°C on a London Underground train. PA -
A fan finds a way to keep cool while watching the Women's Euro 2022 football match between Italy and Belgium at Manchester City Academy Stadium. AP -
An aerial view shows swimmers at Hathersage Swimming Pool, west of Sheffield in northern England. AFP -
Traffic crosses a bridge at Woodhead Resevoir in West Yorkshire as water levels dip dangerously low. AP -
A man leaps from the top of a tree into the River Cam, in Cambridge. Getty Images -
A packed Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth. Getty Images -
A police officer gives water to a sentry in heavy ceremonial uniform, outside Buckingham Palace in central London. AP -
A man cools off in a fountain in London. Reuters -
A man sunbathes at the harbour in Mousehole, Cornwall. AP -
People swim in the River Wye. Reuters -
Passengers feel the heat on the London Underground. The operator advised its customers not to use the metro during the worst of the heatwave. AP -
Palm House supervisor Will Spolestra waters the plants at the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, west London, where temperatures inside the greenhouses are cooler than outside during the heatwave. PA -
Dry grass at Greenwich Park, south-east London. AP -
A swimmer takes an early morning dip in the cool water of Jesus Green Lido in Cambridge, eastern England. Getty Images -
Assistant horticulturalist Katie Martyr checks the temperature at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Forecasts are for record temperatures exceeding 40°C. Getty Images -
Bathers keep cool in a tidal pool at Perranporth Beach in Cornwall, south-west England. Reuters -
Message boards at London's Victoria Station warn passengers of potential disruption to train services due to the extreme heat. AFP -
Zorro the police horse drinks water from a bucket to cool down during hot weather, on Whitehall in London. Reuters -
People use a map to shelter from the sun outside Buckingham Palace in London. Reuters -
A cyclist rides through Richmond Park in south-west London at sunrise on Monday. Reuters -
The reduced water level at Weir Wood reservoir, near Crawley, south-east England. The UK's Met Office has issued its first 'red warning' for exceptional heat. AFP -
A crowded beach at Joss Bay in Broadstairs, south-east England. Reuters -
Swimmers take the plunge to escape the heat in east London. Reuters -
Sunbathers on the parched grass in Greenwich Park, south-east London. AP -
A sign advises people not to travel on the London Underground during the heatwave. EPA
Mr Morgan said the West Midlands and west country could have the highest temperatures, with a maximum of about 35ºC predicted, but that this was still uncertain.
“The heatwave we saw at the end of July, that was relatively short-lived and saw exceptionally high, record-breakingly high temperatures," he said.
“We’re quite confident temperatures will not go as high as they did during July, but the difference is that this is going to be quite a prolonged period of temperatures in the low 30s, so it will be very notable.
“Heatwave criteria are likely to be met across many parts of the UK and there will no doubt be some adverse impacts from heatwave exhaustion, dehydration and so on.
"So we do anticipate some potentially adverse effects to the NHS [National Health Service] and more vulnerable people having heat-related problems through this period of time.”
The Met Office has urged people to follow precautions to avoid becoming overheated, including closing curtains and windows during the day and avoiding the midday sun.
Fires break out in UK during heatwave - in pictures
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A residential area after a large fire in Wennington, Greater London. Several fires broke out across England as the UK experienced a record-breaking heatwave. Getty Images -
Residents look at buildings destroyed by fire in Wennington. Getty -
Firefighters tackle a grass fire during the heatwave in Mow Cop, Staffordshire. Reuters -
Firefighters in Maltby, after a fire started on scrubland before spreading to outbuildings, fences and homes in South Yorkshire. PA -
The scene after a fire at Dartford Marshes. PA -
Burnt woodland is seen as smoke rises from the trees following a fire in Blidworth. Getty Images -
A car drives towards a fire in East London. Reuters -
Burnt woodland in Dartford Heath, England, after a fire on Tuesday. Getty -
Smoke columns rise from Dartford, Kent, where a fire erupted earlier in the day. AFP -
Smoke rises from Wennington neighbourhood fires in England on Tuesday. Getty -
Emergency services tackle a fire on Dartford Heath. Grass fires broke out around the country during an intense heatwave. Getty -
People look on as a fire burns in East London. Reuters -
A firefighter attends a gorse bush fire during a heatwave near Zennor, Cornwall. Reuters -
Smoke pours from a blaze in the village of Wennington, east London. PA -
Firefighters hose down a grass fire in Ravenswood in Suffolk. PA -
Firefighters rest after attending a gorse bush fire near Zennor in Cornwall. Reuters -
A large wildfire in woodland at Lickey Hills Country Park on the edge of Birmingham. AP -
Smoke from the fire near Zennor, Cornwall. Reuters -
Burnt woodland alongside a motorway near Dartford Heath. Getty -
A firefighter has a drink of water after the major blaze on Dartford Heath. Getty
Meanwhile, Environment Secretary George Eustice urged more water companies to impose hosepipe bans during an unusually dry August.
Mr Eustice said some companies had already “rightly” taken action to mitigate the effects of the prolonged dry weather.
His remarks, the first public intervention by ministers, indicate possible restrictions on watering gardens, washing cars or filling pools with hosepipes for millions more people across southern England.
Southern Water has already imposed a hosepipe ban for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, followed exactly a week later for South East Water customers in Kent and Sussex.
Welsh Water has also announced a ban for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire later this month.
