The Met Office has confirmed when the third heatwave of the summer will peak in London this weekend. An amber heat health alert has been in place since 9am on Friday morning (July 11) as experts fear the weather could result in a rise in deaths.
Temperatures peaked at 34.7C at Astwood Bank near Worcester yesterday with similar conditions expected today. Current Met Office projections suggest the mercury will peak between 3pm and 4pm this afternoon (Saturday, July 12), with highs of 30C expected.
Elsewhere in England, forecasters say similar or even higher temperatures are expected than on Friday.
“It might be plus or minus half a degree higher or lower (on Saturday), probably maybe a little bit higher, but that’s going to be the peak as then temperatures start coming down a little bit through the second half of the weekend as low pressure slowly starts to edge in,” meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said.
Highs of 29C or 30C are also expected on Sunday before a cold front from the Atlantic Ocean brings slightly cooler conditions to London. The Met Office says the mercury will drop as low as 23C on Tuesday, July 15 before gradually increasing again to 27C by Friday.
The London Fire Brigade said it has responded to 24 wildfires this year, five of which occurred this week, including one in Manor Park, east London, on Friday afternoon, where 70 firefighters fought to tackle a grass fire on Wanstead Flats.
The risk of wildfires in London is currently rated at “severe” by the Natural Hazards Partnership. Restrictions on hosepipes are currently in place in Kent, Yorkshire and parts of Sussex and Surrey.
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