Meteorologists warned that the hot, dry weather would continue later in the summer, which could lead to ban on hoses and other restrictions on water use.
A “heat dome” is expected to develop over the Mediterranean in August that could again cause very high temperatures in the UK.
The current heat wave has been caused by Saharan air reaching north to southern Europe, where hot temperatures have persisted since July 10th. More than 1,000 deaths have been linked to the heat wave in Spain and Portugal.
Over the past three days, this has spread north from southern Europe to Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Temperatures reached 47ºC, a new national high, in Portugal last week, and are expected to rise again to 39ºC this weekend.
Europe and the UK could see a new heat wave
Meteorologists said temperatures in the UK could rise again if the same southerly winds that brought this week’s heat to the UK returned.
Professor Hannah Cloke, a natural risk researcher at the University of Reading, said: “We hope this will be over in a couple of days. [The temperature] at least it will go down, but there is a remaining risk that it will go up again, in a week or so, looking at the long-term forecast.
“That’s Europe and the UK. That’s pretty worrying.”