Scorching Wales soars

WALES was again officially the hottest part of the UK yesterday as the heatwave continued.

The Met Office said the mercury in Porthmadog reached 32.6°C, beating yesterday’s maximum temperature, and making it the hottest day of 2018 so far.

The record-breaking heat means Wales has sizzled all week, with temperatures skyrocketing and roads melting .

Porthmadog was also the hottest recorded place on Wednesday, seeing temperatures of 31.9°C.

And the glorious weather looks set to continue with forecasters predicting several more days of sunshine.

But Thursday is likely to see the end of the steadily increasing temperatures, the Met Office said.

And BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway tweeted: “Looks like the heatwave will break on Sunday into next week with low pressure bringing some rain, heavy showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures lower next week.”

A spokesman for the Met Office said: “Over the next few days the high pressure will remain so there will be blue skies across the UK and that will last certainly into the weekend.

“We may see some thunderstorms on Sunday or Monday, but nothing’s certain.

“But we can expect these sorts of high temperatures to be reached certainly until Saturday.”

Meanwhile, as Britain swelters, the Met Office’s heat-health watch alert remains at level two, meaning social and healthcare services are at the ready to reduce harm from a potential heatwave.

Public Health England also issued a warning, saying the extreme heat may pose a risk to the most vulnerable.

The rising temperatures have come with warnings to be careful near water and in the countryside, where fire crews have been tackling wildfires.

The heat has already claimed casualties – a 17-year-old boy was found dead in the River Aire in Leeds in the early hours of Wednesday morning following a search and rescue operation. It is believed he got into difficulties while swimming on Tuesday evening.

Elsewhere, the body of 13-year-old Ryan Evans, who went missing on Monday after getting into difficulty in Westport Lake in Stoke-on-Trent, was recovered from the water.

The body of a man was also recov-