London has been hit with an amber warning for extreme heat as temperatures are set to climb yet again this week.
It comes as temperatures of as high as 38C have been forecast for parts of England.
The Met Office has issued the heat warning for London and parts of the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands and South Yorkshire from 9am to midnight on Thursday.
Temperatures in the capital are expected to reach 26C on Tuesday before rising to a high of 33C on Wednesday.
They could then reach as high as 36C in parts of London on Thursday.
The forecaster said the heat on Thursday could affect transport, infrastructure and health across the country.
Although the mercury will remain as high as 30C on Friday, temperatures are expected to drop to highs of 25C and 26C in the following days.
Met Office chief forecaster Chris Bulmer said: “While the peak heat will be more short-lived than recent heatwaves, temperatures widely into the mid-30s Celsius on Thursday brings the potential for impacts for some, which is why a Met Office warning has been issued.
“High pressure is now becoming dominant and temperatures will build day-by-day. Southerly and south-easterly winds will also tap into the hot conditions over Europe which helps develop this further notable heat in what has been a hot and dry summer so far for many in the south of the UK.”
The Met Office warning highlights the likely health impacts of the latest spike in temperatures, as well as the risk of incidents in open water, travel disruption and the potential for power cuts.
Amber health heat alerts are already in place for most of England including the Midlands, South East, North West and South West, and a yellow alert is in force for the North East from Tuesday morning until Friday evening.
Officials have urged people to take simple steps to stay safe, such as drinking plenty of water, checking on vulnerable friends and family, and avoiding the sun at the hottest part of the day.
There are warnings older people are more at risk from the extreme heat, with Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s charity director, saying that as people age, their bodies find it harder to adapt to extremes of heat and cold.
“Even younger and otherwise healthy people can feel the effects of very hot weather, but with temperatures forecast to reach up to 36C in some areas, the risks can be much greater for older people,” she said.
She said most homes in the UK were not designed to cope with extreme heat, so it was important to keep them as cool as possible, keeping curtains and windows closed during the hottest part of the day and opening windows overnight when temperatures fall.
She urged people to check in on older neighbours, friends and relatives to see if they need support such as picking up the shopping or lending them a fan.
She said: “The increasing frequency of heatwaves, alongside droughts, wildfires and hosepipe bans, shows how important it is that we do more to protect those most at risk as climate change continues to bring more extreme weather.”
Some places are facing their fifth heatwave in an extremely dry hot summer, as the UK battles with the growing spectre of worsening extreme weather fuelled by climate change, which is mostly driven by burning fossil fuels for power plants, vehicles, home heating and industry.
Record-breaking heatwaves in May and June led to the deaths of more than 2,800 people, while parts of the country were hit with further heatwaves last month as England and Wales endured their driest Julys since records began in 1836.
Almost three quarters of England and the whole of Wales are now in drought, with farmers struggling with a lack of water, 27 million customers under hosepipe bans, the risk of wildfires and the impact on nature.
The Environment Agency (EA) said 71.3 per cent of England is experiencing “flash drought”, as a dry start to August followed the country’s driest July on record.
Flash drought is one which develops very quickly because of a combination of very low rainfall and high temperatures.
The agency said the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and the South Downs became the latest areas to move into drought on Monday.
Firefighters have been battling a series of fires across the UK, including one in the New Forest National Park, Hampshire.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said on Tuesday that crews had worked through the night, battling a challenging change in wind direction, and were managing to contain the fire, which started after a van caught fire on the A31 near Ringwood on Sunday.
The area hit by the blaze is protected heathland and home to a number of rare species, according to the New Forest National Park Authority.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said on Monday night that crews were attending “multiple wildfire incidents”, including at Cwmavon Woods in Blaenavon, Wattsville in Sirhowy Valley and Abernant in Aberdare.
