Brace yourselves, another heatwave could be on the way

It may seem like we’ve only just recovered from last week’s extreme heat, but another blast of hot weather could be on the way.

The UK experienced its hottest day ever last week when temperatures hit 40.3°C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

The unprecedented weather caused roads and runways to melt, schools to close, and led to transport chaos.

Now, forecasters are keeping a close eye on the weather charts once again warning temperatures could start ‘rising day by day’ from the end of the week.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: ‘Some southeastern areas of the country could reach their heatwave thresholds on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July (with maximum temperatures of 28°C – 30°C possible in London and SE England.

‘However, there are currently no indications that conditions will be anything like as hot as they were across large areas of the UK on the 18th and 19th July.’

For a spell of hot weather to be classified as a heatwave, temperatures must hit 28°C in London, 27°C in southern and central England or 25°C in the rest of the country, for three consecutive days.

Temperatures are currently predicted to reach 27°C in London on Friday before rising to 28°C on Saturday and Sunday with lots of sunshine.

Elsewhere, the Met Office is forecasting temperatures in early August ‘are likely to remain above average across southern areas of the UK’ which could lead to ‘warm and at times periods of hot or even very hot weather’. 

The warning comes as Britain’s green spaces have been turned tinderbox dry leading to a spate of wildfires.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it had an ‘exceptionally busy’ weekend, taking more than twice as many calls as usual and tackling several significant weather-related incidents across the capital.

Firefighters across the capital found themselves battling blazes in Rammey Marsh in Enfield and Cranford Park in Hayes.

Meanwhile, a major incident was declared in Surrey due to a large blaze that destroyed at least eight hectares of land.

Images and footage from Hankley Common of the fire showed flames and large plumes of white/grey smoke billowing across the grassland.

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