Met Office says temperatures in east and south-east likely to top 33C recorded last month

The UK could record its hottest day of the year this week as the spell of unusually hot weather shows no signs of abating.



Temperatures could reach higher than 34C in some parts of the country on Wednesday, beating the 33C recorded at Porthmadog in north Wales on 28 June.

The Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: “It does look likely it will be at least 33C at some point this week, most likely on Wednesday or Thursday, in the south-east and east, London, Essex, Kent, East Anglia and into Lincolnshire, and that would make it the hottest day we have had so far.”

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With the possibility of temperatures hitting 34C or 35C, Britons could be in line for the hottest day since 34.5C was recorded at Heathrow on 21 June last year. The hottest July day on record is 36.7C, which was also recorded at Heathrow on 1 July 2015.

The hot weather will lead to thunderstorms and it “could all happen on the same day”, Burkill said. “The heat and humidity means there is a lot of energy in the air.”

Nearly all parts of the UK are recording above average temperatures, and the east or south-east are likely to be the hottest. UK temperatures have been about 10C higher than average for the time of year during the current heatwave.

Scotland, which averages 17C in July, could record temperatures as high as 25C, Wales 26C or 27C instead of 19.2C, and Northern Ireland 24C rather than 18.5C.

Burkill also predicted that the current run of fine weather would continue. “It always seems that when the schools break up, that is when we get the bad weather, but in this instance that is not the case,” he said.

United Utilities said last week that it would introduce the first hosepipe ban in England since 2012, when the UK endured its longest heatwave in more than 40 years.

Seven million people in the north-west will be affected by the ban, which is due to come into force on 5 August. A hosepipe ban was introduced in Northern Ireland on 29 June and lifted on Thursday.

United Utilities has submitted three drought applications to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to extract water from Ullswater, Windermere and Ennerdale Water in the Lake District.

Drought applications can be made when there is an exceptional shortage of rainfall and public water supplies are at risk. Limits are applied to how much water can be taken from lakes to protect the environment, ecology and wildlife.