Britain is set to bake in its fourth heatwave this summer with temperatures peaking at 35C, forecasters have warned.
After long-awaited rainfall clears from the north and north-west of the UK this weekend, hot and dry weather is likely to return for much of England and eastern Wales.
Mercury could top out at 35C in some areas next week as the heat intensifies, according to BBC Weather.
It follows a summer of scorching temperatures, with records broken for June when a sweltering 37.7C was recorded in Lingwood, Strumpshaw Hill.
Hot spells are classed as a heatwave when temperatures exceed thresholds for the area for three consecutive days.
So far, 2026 has brought three heatwaves already, with the third ending in most areas last weekend when cooler air arrived, dropping maximum temperatures widely to 20-24C.
However it persists in some locations, such as Usk, Monmouthshire, and Exeter Airport, Devon, where temperatures have exceeded heatwave thresholds for 19 consecutive days.
More than 20 million Britons are now under a hosepipe ban as water companies clamp down on use following the exceptionally dry and hot weather.
Although rain and showers are expected in the north and northwest this weekend, it is likely to only be a temporary break, with high pressure building once again in southern England.
Met Office chief meteorologist, Dan Suri, said: “After a prolonged spell of hot, dry and settled weather, some will see a temporary change this weekend as weather fronts move south-east across the UK.
“While some areas, particularly in the north and west, will see rain and showers, many places are likely to receive relatively little rainfall.
“For much of southern England, dry conditions are expected to remain the dominant feature, with temperatures recovering quickly next week and the potential for very warm or locally hot weather to return.”
For much of next week temperatures in England and Wales will peak around 25-32C, with 33C forecast for London on Wednesday.
East Wales and most of England could easily see temperatures between 30-35C, according to BBC Weather, with the highest temperatures likely in central and eastern England by Tuesday before spreading northwards and westwards.
Scotland and Northern Ireland will remain cooler with temperatures generally in the high teens or low to mid-twenties.
News of the latest potential heatwave comes as over 200,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes as massive wildfires continue to rage across southwestern France and central Spain.
Experts called for Britain to prepare for a Mediterranean climate after June’s record-breaking temperatures, warning that such extreme heat is set to happen “again and again”.
Hundreds of schools were forced to close and three NHS trusts declared critical incidents as temperature records for June were shattered for three days in a row.
Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the independent National Heat Risk Commission (NHRC), said the stifling temperatures are not a one-off, warning: “This is something that we are going to see happening again and again.”
She said the heatwave should “absolutely” act as “a wake-up call” for Britain to upgrade its infrastructure to withstand higher temperatures alongside work to tackle carbon emissions.
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