Brits face a third summer heatwave next week with temperatures hitting 34C, but looming hosepipe bans and yellow health alerts threaten to ruin the fun
Sun-starved Brits might want to be careful what they wish for as a third summer heatwave prepares to bake the country next week. Sun-worshippers flocked to coastal hotspots on Saturday to soak up the rays, and the mercury is only going north.
According to the Met Office, southern regions could bask in 29C heat on Sunday, climbing into the low-30s by Tuesday and Wednesday. The peak of the sizzler is expected on Thursday or Friday, where parts of the south east of England could see temperatures rocket to a blistering 34C.
It comes after a record-breaking June heatwave, which saw the mercury hit an unprecedented 37.7C in Lingwood, Norfolk, on Friday, June 26.
That followed a scorching May where Kew, London, clocked 35.1C, obliterating a 102-year-old record of 32.8C set back in 1922.
The Met Office’s Becky Mitchell said: “By comparison to the heatwave in June, this one won’t be as hot and humid but it will be a prolonged spell which lasts all week.”
But while sunbathers are rejoicing, green-fingered Brits are bracing for the inevitable buzzkill that follows a prolonged dry spell, with strict water restrictions expected.
More than a million households in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are facing a Southern Water garden ban starting July 10.
Meanwhile, South East Water has already brought a temporary hosepipe ban into force for customers in Kent.
Defending the crackdown, Southern Water said that “the warmest spring on record, followed by a record-breaking heatwave, has left river levels 25 per cent lower than expected”.
The blistering forecast has also triggered official warnings. The UK Health Security Agency has slapped yellow heat health alerts across the east midlands, east, south east, south west, London, and the west midlands, running until July 11.
Health bosses confirmed that social care and NHS services are on high alert for a surge in demand from vulnerable people struggling in the sweltering conditions.