A yellow heat-health alert has been issued as temperatures hotter than those forecast for Ibiza are set to sweep London this Friday.
The alert is in place from 5pm on Thursday in the capital, where it’s set to reach a sizzling 32C on Friday, and remains in place until 11pm on Saturday.
The warning, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office, is also set for the East Midlands, the South East and eastern England.
A yellow alert is issued when vulnerable people, such as the elderly and those will multiple health conditions, could struggle in the heat and may need health and social care.
The Met Office is now forecasting that it will reach 32C in central London as the capital basks in glorious sunshine. That would make it the hottest day of the year so far - exceeding the current high of 30.3C recorded at Heathrow on June 26.
It would also make it hotter than Ibiza which the Met Office predicts will reach 28C on Friday, and warmer than Barcelona which is also forecast to be 30C on Friday.
It will be welcome news to many Londoners, following a cold and drizzly start to the summer and a week that has seen Britain battered by rain and floods.
The Met Office says a “fine and dry” Wednesday should bring temperatures up to 26C - “around average for time of year”.
The capital is due to heat up throughout Wednesday and Thursday, before reaching a 32C peak on Friday, when forecasters say London will be “possibly feeling very warm”.
A cooler weekend is expected to follow, with highs of 28C and some showers possible on Saturday.
It follows a soggy first seven months of the year so far, which has seen rain blamed for dampening economic performance and consumer spending.
The UK experienced its wettest spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record.
In the first week of July, several areas in the south-east of England including London saw 80 per cent or more of the average expected rainfall for the whole month, according to Met Office data.
The recent damp weather has been paired with chilly conditions.
The Met Office recorded the average temperature for the first week of July as 12.9C – some 2.4C below the month’s long-term average.
June also ended with an average temperature of below 13C, despite a mini-heatwave in parts of the country towards the end of the month.
From Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning this week, the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning, with much of the country hit by heavy rain, including downpours of up to 40mm over the course of a few hours that led to some localised flooding.
