Temperatures in Britain forecast to dip from Monday but stay well above average

Britain’s longest heatwave in five years is to last for another week, with water companies urging people to be sparing in their usage.

The Met Office said Sunday was the hottest day in England this year when Gosport, Hampshire, reached 32.4C (90.3F). Porthmadog in north Wales holds the UK record for 2018 of 33C on 28 June.

Monday is likely to be the 16th consecutive day of temperatures above 28C, making the scorching spell the longest the UK has seen since 2013, when there were 19 consecutive days of temperatures over 28C.

But a cool front making its way south from Scotland will see temperatures drop to the low-to-mid 20s for much of England from Tuesday, said Becky Mitchell, a Met Office meteorologist. It will be particularly cool on the east coast, with temperatures forecast in the high teens to low 20s.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Seagulls cool down on the water in the seaside town of Ilfracombe, North Devon. Photograph: Natasha Quarmby/REX/Shutterstock

Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office forecaster, said: “As the week goes on, it will generally stay dry and settled across much of the UK, but it will tend to be a bit cloudier than it has been, with perhaps an increasing risk of some rain towards the end of the week.”

The driest summer on record was 1995, with 64.7mm of rain in June, July and August. An average of 35.4mm of rain was recorded up to the end of June. Provisional statistics suggest this is one of the UK’s five warmest Junes since 1910.

United Utilities, which provides water to north-west England, warned the prolonged hot weather meant the region’s reservoir stores had decreased. “The reducing reservoir levels are not surprising given the ongoing lack of rainfall and exceptionally high demand,” it said.

“We are still encouraging our customers to voluntarily use water efficiently by avoiding the use of water-hungry devices, particularly outside in the garden. However, if demand does not reduce in the next few days, we’ll have no choice but to introduce enforced restrictions.”

The hottest UK heatwave on record remains that of 1976, when there were 15 consecutive days of 32C or more. A temperature of 35.6C was recorded on 28 June that year in Southampton, which remains the UK’s June record. A temperature of 35.9C was recorded on 3 July 1976 in Cheltenham.