SerpApi.Org
Temperatures will drop this week after a spate of heatwaves saw weather records broken almost daily across the country.
Some areas of the UK will be hit with showers and cooler temperatures, with rain expected in the north of England this weekend, but south of the country is expected to stay warm.
But there are suggestions that the UK could experience its fourth heatwave of the year later in August. Seasonal forecasts are that parts of Britain will continue have a hotter summer than average.
It comes after a peak of the heatwave saw the temperature exceeded 35°C,creating a new record for the most 35°C days in a calendar year – six in total for 2026.
Temperatures of 35°C or higher have now been recorded in May, June and July of the same year for the first time in the UK weather record, according to the Met Office.
Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman said: “For almost two weeks the UK has seen somewhere in the UK has seen temperatures reach or exceed 30°C.
“The high pressure – which has brought this prolonged fine spell – will continue for the next week or so at least, but a northerly flow will introduce a cooler feel that will end the run of 30°C days. However, we are still likely to see some locations remain in heatwave conditions.”
“July and August are key months in the UK for heatwaves,” he added. “Although we have had three significant heatwaves in the UK already, these have been independent events. But because of the preceding conditions dry soils could provide feedback making another heatwave a little more likely.”
According to the Met Office long range forecast, after a short period of rain from the end of July in some areas, August will continue to see settled and dry weather, especially across the south. Temperatures “will very likely remain above normal, with potential for further hot spells, particularly in the south”, the forecaster says
Hosepipe bans
Water firms have begun to introduce restrictions, with hosepipe bans across the south and east of England over concerns about prolonged high temperatures and minimal rainfall.
South East Water introduced a temporary hosepipe ban across Kent on 3 July. Nick Price, head of water resources, said that since March, the company has received just over half the expected rainfall across the areas it supplies.
“With more hot weather forecast for the next 10 days, we’re reminding customers in Kent that temporary hosepipe restrictions remain in place,” he said.
“We’re also asking customers in Sussex and our Western region, where we supply parts of Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, to voluntarily pause all hosepipe use and only use water for essential purposes: drinking, cooking and hygiene. This is temporary, while we get through this latest heatwave.”
Affinity Water enforced a ban on 10 July, affecting 1.1 million customers across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Surrey.
Southern Water implemented a hosepipe ban across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on the same day after river levels were left 25 per cent lower than expected for this time of year. The River Test has lost a third of its water within the last month.
Anglian Water followed with a ban from 11 July, affecting five million customers across the East of England.
South West Water implemented a temporary ban from 14 July, affecting customers in Mid Devon and parts of East Devon including Tiverton, Cullompton, Bampton, Honiton, South Molton, Dunkeswell, Axminster and Lyme Regis.
David Harris, South West Water’s managing director for water services, said: “The extreme hot weather over the last few weeks has resulted in exceptionally high demand on our drinking water network in Mid Devon and parts of East Devon.
“We will continue to monitor our demand levels daily and as soon as we see demand return to normal for this time of year, allowing our treatment water supply network to recover, we will lift the restrictions.”
Cambridge Water will also introduce a ban from 17 July.
Other suppliers, including United Utilities, Wessex Water, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Portsmouth Water, said supplies remain stable but urged customers to conserve water.
Heatwave deaths
More than 2,700 people in England and Wales may have died from heat-related causes in May and June, according to modelling from a team at Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Most of these deaths occurred during June, which was the warmest June on record in England, with temperatures hitting 37.7°C in Lingwood, Norfolk. The previous record high, 35.6°C, was set in 1957.
In a report published on Tuesday, the Met Office said climate extremes are becoming the new “normal” for the UK.
Mike Kendon, Met Office climate information scientist, said: “2025 was the UK’s warmest year on record, the sixth time this record has been broken in the 21st Century so far. The last four years are all in the top five warmest years. With warming at around 0.25°C per decade since the 1980s, it seems likely this record will be broken again in a matter of years.”
