Britons can expect another day of heat but rain is forecast

Britons are set for another day of heat following record-breaking temperatures, but rain is forecast in parts of the UK. 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has amber heat health alerts in place for the East Midlands, east of England, South East and London until Wednesday morning.

It comes after another record was broken on Monday when the temperature reached 33.5C in Wisley in Surrey, marking the 20th day of 2026 when 32C or higher was recorded in the UK, exceeding the previous record of 19 days set in 1995, the Met Office said.

Yellow heat health alerts are in place for the North West, South West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and The Humber, as the UKHSA warns the latest high temperatures could put extra pressure on the NHS.

But after what has been the driest July in England and Wales since records began, some rain is forecast on Tuesday in Northern Ireland, Scotland, western England and Wales.

A dry day is forecast, however, for much of the Midlands, the east and South-East of England, with warm sunshine and high humidity.

Temperatures are expected to start dropping by the second half of the week while more unsettled weather is forecast in some areas, including a yellow warning for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland.

But the Met Office has warned the South East is likely to still fall short of much-needed rain.

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In July, southern England saw its driest month ever recorded, in a series dating back to 1836, provisional Met Office figures showed.

Last week the Met Office said the prolonged heat, abundant sunshine and an almost total absence of rainfall in some areas were making for a "truly exceptional" month.

More than half of England and the entirety of Wales is officially in drought.

Some 19 counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall - 1mm or less - across the whole of July, Met Office figures showed.

The dry conditions come after last year's drought summer, with the UK facing the impacts of more extreme weather fuelled by human-caused climate change, mostly as a result of burning fossil fuels.

(c) Sky News 2026: Britons can expect another day of heat but rain is forecast