London isn’t in a heatwave – but there are plenty of people enjoying the sun anyway (Picture: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock)
The weather we’ve been experiencing isn’t set to go anywhere as warm weather is set to continue this week, the Met Office says.
The forecaster says temperatures will be slightly cooler than recent sweltering conditions, but highs could reach 28°C in London, 28°C in Cardiff, and 27°C in Manchester on Wednesday.
However temperatures should be slightly cooler across Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Wales and much of England exceeded the threshold for a heatwave earlier this week.
According to the Met Office, a heatwave is defined as three days in a row with temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave threshold – though the threshold varies in each county.
The temperature hit 32.2°C in Chertsey, Surrey, on Saturday – the highest recorded this year so far.
Tuesday’s highest temperature, of 30.8°C, was recorded in Porthmadog, north west Wales.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: ‘The heat is set to drop slightly in coming days.
It’s been warm and sunny across the UK (Picture: PA)
‘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.
‘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.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan extended a high air pollution warning until today, as increased temperatures and winds from the continent blow pollutants towards the capital.
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‘Into the weekend there should be a fair amount of dry weather, with temperatures remaining warm for many, although also humid and warm overnight.’