London will swelter in heatwave temperatures above 30C this week, according to forecasters.
WX Charts is predicting the hot weather will reach a peak on Wednesday, July 29.
Forecasts suggest the capital will bask in a heatwave as UK temperatures rise as high as 35C.
It would mark the fourth heatwave in London so far this year, with a record-breaking May temperature of 35.1C recorded in Kew Gardens, followed by another hot blast in June, which saw 36C in the capital, and a third lasting 13 days in July.
A yellow heat alert has been issued from 9am on Tuesday to 9am on Friday for London and other parts of England.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a warning of possible “significant impacts” on health and social care services, including a rise in deaths among the elderly or people with health conditions, and an increase in drownings.
On Monday, temperatures are expected to stay “fresher” in London after a slightly cooler weekend. The Met Office is forecasting a high of 25C in the capital, before temperatures pick up sharply with 29C expected on Tuesday and 33C on Wednesday.\
Forecasters are expecting this week’s hot spell to be a “north-south split”, with clouds and outbreaks of rain continuing in Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England.
But the peak will be “almost a blink and you miss it”, with temperatures widely cooling close to average by the weekend, said senior Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud.
It comes as a hosepipe ban continues in London, affecting 10 million Thames Water customers across the South East.
Drought has been declared in North Wales and the Upper Severn, following record dry conditions, heatwaves, wildfires and dwindling rivers.
It is the first part of the UK to declare drought status amid a summer of record-breaking heatwaves.
Many parts of England are in prolonged dry weather status as the country has received just 3% of its average July rainfall, with hosepipe bans in place for 23 million customers and suppliers warning they may stay in place all summer.
Wildfires have been raging in a number of places in England, while Scotland has also been hit by a major wildfire in the Cairngorms, and in the Republic of Ireland, a nationwide hosepipe ban is in place in response to the dry conditions.
