Week-long heatwave due in England with 34C peak in south-east

Heat health alerts in place in most regions of England from Sunday to Saturday with mercury also rising in Wales

Another heatwave is on the way across parts of the UK with peak temperatures of 34C forecast.

Temperatures in the south of England could reach 28C on Saturday, according to the Met Office.

A week-long warning from health officials came into force at midday in parts of the UK, stating that high temperatures over the coming days could cause a greater risk to life for vulnerable people.

The Met Office said temperatures in the south-east of England were forecast to rise to 29C on Sunday, then approach the low 30Cs next week with a peak of 34C on the Thursday or Friday.

Though it is expected to be a prolonged spell of hot weather in parts of the UK, it will not be as hot and humid as last month’s heatwave, the forecaster added.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued yellow heat health alerts in England covering the east, East Midlands, West Midlands, south-west, London and the south-east from midday on 4 July until 8pm on 11 July.

The agency said that within the warning area, the high temperatures were likely to have minor impacts on health and social care services including the increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people and a greater risk to life to the same group.

It also warned of an increase in water-related incidents due to a raised risk of cold water shock and drowning.

The Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: “We have got a heatwave on the way across parts of southern England and Wales , temperatures are already quite high across the south-east today. We could get 28C in London.

“Elsewhere, it’s not as hot as we have got temperatures closer to average, but they will climb as we go into next week. The northern areas of the country will be cloudier with spells of rain at times, so there’s a north-south split.

“There will be highs of 29C tomorrow in the south. At the start of next week, we will see temperatures approach the low 30s.”

There are no heat health warnings in place for Wales.

Mitchell added: “The peak of the heat appears to be Thursday or Friday: 34C in the south-east. By comparison to the heatwave we saw in June, this heatwave won’t be as hot and humid, but it will be a prolonged spell of hot weather which lasts around a week.”

Meanwhile, Southern Water has issued a hosepipe pan from 12.01am on 10 July in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.

The ban stops customers using a hosepipe for non-essential activities, including: watering gardens, including via a sprinkler system; filling paddling pools, hot tubs, swimming pools, ponds or fountains; and washing cars, patios or windows.

The UKHSA’s new alert comes after a heatwave last week, during which the Met Office issued a rare red warning for extreme heat for parts of the country and the UKHSA put red heat health alerts in place.

It was the first time since extreme heat warnings were established in 2021 that a red warning for extreme heat was issued for three consecutive days in the UK. Records dating back several decades, in some cases over a century, were challenged or exceeded during the three-day red extreme heat alert.

The UK set a provisional June temperature record of 37.7C in Lingwood in Norfolk, according to the Met Office.

It beats the previous June record for the UK of 35.6C, which dates back to 1976, by more than 2C.

The frequency and intensity of heatwaves has increased worldwide. Met Office projections indicate that hot spells will become more frequent in our future climate, particularly in the south-east of the UK. Temperatures are projected to rise in all seasons, but the heat would be most intense in summer.