A four-day warning for extreme heat is now in force across southern England and eastern Wales, with temperatures expected to soar as high as 36C this weekend.
The Met Office will raise its Fire Severity Index to exceptional – the highest level – on Friday, affecting much of southern England and stretching as far west as Abergavenny in Wales by Sunday.
The wildfire risk is already “very high” across much of England, Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said, adding that it will increase throughout the weekend.
The chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Mark Hardingham, told The Telegraph that he “can’t remember a summer like this” in his entire 32-year career in the fire service, adding: “The ground couldn’t get any drier than it already is.”
As rivers dry up and the spectre of drought looms, Professor Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading said that while this heatwave will feel “less intense” than July’s, it could actually be more fatal because it will last longer.
