Heatwave continues into July

Temperatures have reached at least 30 Celsius in all four nations over the last few days. The last time this happened was during a warm spell in July 2013.  Porthmadog, Wales, has seen the highest temperature of the year so far, with 33.0 °C recorded on 28 June. 

Chief Meteorologist, Will Lang, said: “The heatwave conditions will continue to affect pretty much all parts of the UK over the next few days. Although peak temperatures may not be quite as high as we have seen this week, we will still see temperatures widely in the mid to high 20’s °C with 30 °C or more still possible across southern and some central parts of England.”

Hot weather often brings the risk of showers and thunderstorms and there is a chance of heavy or thundery showers for southwestern parts of the England and south Wales on Sunday, perhaps spreading to some other southern parts later, but for many it will stay dry, sunny and warm. 

 Lang added: “While many areas will continue to have hot and sunny weather on Sunday we could see thunderstorms developing across parts of southwest England and south Wales, bringing torrential rain, hail and lightning to a few places and we have issued a Met Office weather warning because of this.

“These thundery downpours are likely in only a few places rather than across the whole warning area, the greatest chance of impacts such as spray and sudden flooding on roads, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds is in the afternoon, with the risk decreasing again on Sunday evening.”

The sun is at its strongest at this time of year and UV levels will be high or very high, so people should take care when outside enjoying the weather.  A Level 2 heat-health watch warning has been issued for northwest England.

Dr Thomas Waite of PHE said: “We know that when weather like this hits many people will head outdoors and make the most of the sunshine – but for others high temperatures, over more than a day or two, can be really uncomfortable and pose a significant risk to health. This is because their bodies may struggle to adapt to working harder, as all our bodies do when the weather gets this hot, and they can become ill.

“It’s vitally important that we keep an eye on friends, family and neighbours who may be at risk. For others the best thing to do is avoid the sun during the hottest parts of the day, carry water with you when travelling and if going out to large events, and we know lots of people will be watching football this week: think what you can do stay cool. It’s also worth remembering to think about keeping homes cool, as this can aid sleeping at night and give the body time to recover from the heat of the day.”

Forestry Commission Spokesperson, Stuart Burgess, said: “Every year, fire destroys thousands of hectares of countryside. They are a threat to people, wildlife, forests, woodlands and trees.  Although some fires are started deliberately, most of them are due to carelessness.  Thankfully major forest fires are rare and we remind everyone to take care all the time, not only during dry spells.”