Mercury keeps rising as record heat takes toll
THE sweltering heatwave is set to continue this week following the hottest day of the year so far.
A record 31.9C was reached in Porthmadog, North Wales, yesterday.
And there were forecasts of 32C for parts of Britain today; bad news for fire crews tackling the spreading moorside wildfires near Manchester.
Fresh warnings have also been issued over cooling off in open water after divers yesterday recovered the body of missing Ryan Evans, 13, at Westport Lake in Stoke-on-Trent.
The Met Office said the only rain on the horizon was a possible weekend thunderstorm in the South East and far North. A spokesman said: “Over the next few days the high pressure will remain so there will be blue skies across the UK... into the weekend. We may see some thunderstorms on Sunday or Monday, but nothing is certain.”
Meanwhile police yesterday pulled a body from the River Aire in Leeds after a 17-year-old boy went missing on Tuesday evening.
On Monday, the body of a man was recovered from a lake in Nutfield, Surrey, and a woman drowned in the sea off Eastbourne, East Sussex.
The RNLI urged bathers to seek beaches with a lifeguard. While Public Health England warned the extreme heat may be a risk to the vulnerable.
PHE’s Dr Thomas Waite said: “It’s vitally important that we keep an eye on friends, family and neighbours.”