Warm temperatures are forecast to remain across the UK for the rest of the week, but the mercury is likely to remain lower than recent sweltering conditions.
The Met Office has forecast temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s for much of England over the next few days with London expected to reach a high of 28C on Wednesday and Manchester likely to see a top of 27C.
The mercury could also push 28C in Cardiff in the afternoon, while temperatures should be slightly cooler across Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “The heat is set to drop slightly in coming days.
“London might not meet heatwave criteria, for example, but there’s a good deal of dry, fine, sunny weather to be had this week with temperatures remaining well above average.
“Into the weekend there should be a fair amount of dry weather, with temperatures remaining warm for many, although also humid and warm overnight.”
He continued: “On Thursday there is a chance of thunder moving into western areas of Northern Ireland and possibly moving further east into parts of Wales.
“The risk of showers will persist into Friday, but on Thursday and Friday there will still be a good deal of dry weather around, especially in the South East.”
It comes after a swathe of the UK stretching from the North West to the South East of England exceeded the threshold for a heatwave.
The temperature hit 32.2C in Chertsey, Surrey, on Saturday June 10, the highest recorded so far this year.
Porthmadog, north west Wales, saw Tuesday’s highest temperature, at 30.8C.
According to the Met Office, a heatwave is defined as three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold.
The threshold varies in each county.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan extended the high air pollution warning in the capital until Wednesday.
