Temperatures to climb past 30C as third heatwave begins and hosepipe ban enforced

Temperatures in the low 30s are to hit areas including London, Bath and Manchester from as early as Thursday.

Alex Deakin from the Met Office said much of England, the east of Northern Ireland and eastern parts of Scotland can expect to experience a heatwave.

It comes after a yellow heat health alert was issued for the southern half of England on Tuesday by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

It will be in place from 10am on Wednesday until 10am next Tuesday and covers London, the East Midlands, West Midlands, East Anglia, the South East and South West.

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Aidan McGivern, said: "There’ll be sunny skies for the south and the east first thing Wednesday, but a lot of cloud elsewhere.

"It’s mostly dry into the afternoon and it’s turning warmer day by day."

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He added it will become "increasingly warm, if not hot, in many places by the end of the week and into the weekend".

Yorkshire Water posted to X from Friday July 11, a restriction on the use of hosepipes will come into effect.

"This will help our region’s reservoir levels recover and protect Yorkshire's water resources throughout the summer months, following one of the driest springs on record and the region being in drought," it said.

"We've tried everything possible to avoid these restrictions, and despite our customers' help to save water where they can and our efforts to manage water resources, including adding an extra 100 people to our leakage team and upgrading our infrastructure to reduce leaks and bursts, the dry weather and warmer-than-usual temperatures have increased demand."

Those hoping to watch tennis stars in action at Wimbledon have been advised to bring sun cream for UV protection, stay regularly hydrated and consider wearing a hat as temperatures are set to reach the low 30s from Thursday.

The UK saw its hottest day of the year so far when 34.7C was recorded at St James’s Park in central London on July 1.