Fire chiefs are warning blazes could spread to residential areas as temperatures rocket today - with fears of 950 heatwave deaths.
It comes as temperatures today could reach a sizzling 36C - just weeks after parts of the UK saw an unprecedented 40C last months.
The searingly hot summer has seen desert-like conditions across many parts of the country - with satellite images showing scorched land and dry areas as green parklands turn brown.
Yesterday afternoon, firefighters put out a grass fire at Hollow Ponds in Leytonstone, East London , while satellite images released by the Met Office showed vast parts of the country as desert-like landscapes.
Mark Hardingham, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), said the combination of prolonged dry weather and high temperatures had created an “unprecedented” risk that blazes could spread.
“I can’t remember a summer like this and I’ve been in the fire service for 32 years,” he said
He added: “The wildfires are as prevalent in semi-urban areas as they are in rural communities so it’s difficult to know where the next one will be.”
The fire warning system has been at the second highest level of alert for seven weeks, the longest-ever stretch after the driest start to the year since 1976.
Antonio Gasparrini, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, has estimated that about 950 people in England and Wales are likely to have died because of the heat between July 17 and 19, when there was a record high of 40C.
August marks the fourth month that parts of Britain, specifically the south and east, have seen little to no rain, according to government rainfall logs.
Meteorologists warned this week that "no significant rain" will arrive until the last week of August at the earliest, as hosepipe bans loom in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Wight.
With temperatures soaring once more to highs of 36C and an amber warning for extreme heat in parts of the country.
It means Brits could be prevented from watering their gardens and washing their cars with a hose until October with temperatures back on the rise in another heatwave.
The water-saving measures have already been introduced by two water companies while others have warned they may need to follow suit.
Southern Water is asking the Environment Agency for a special permit to allow it to take more water from the River Test after being the first to introduce a hosepipe ban in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, according to The Times.
Five day weather forecast
Staying sunny and hot for many into the weekend.
Today:
Another sunny and very hot day for many areas, although cooler on some northeast coasts with patchy mist and cloud developing. Further cloud and some rain in the far north and northwest.
Tonight:
Some low cloud in the north and northeast with a few fog patches developing in east England and Northern Ireland. Otherwise dry and clear for staying warm for many overnight.
Saturday:
Fine and sunny for most with any low cloud and fog clearing quickly during the morning. Hot or very hot with highest temperatures in central and southern England.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Dry, sunny and hot in the south Sunday but heavy showers or thunderstorms for parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Becoming widely unsettled from Monday with showers and thunderstorms.
