The UK will be hotter than Greece this week as a final heatwave of the year sweeps in. Brits are set to roast in 26C temperatures in the south tomorrow (September 22) with the rest of the nation expected to bask in the mid-20s.
Warmest day of the week
But Greece's capital Athens will struggle to see the mercury go above 24C. And forecasters said while the best of the sun will be down south, most areas will see warmer temperatures than usual for late September.
The Met Office said: "Dry with sunny spells for most on Tuesday and rather warm." Forecasts show tomorrow (September 22) will be the hottest day of the week.
Today (September 21) and Wednesday will also see temperatures above 20C across most of England, with the mercury only taking a dip towards the end of the week. A build up of high pressure across the UK is behind the sunnier conditions compared to the milder weekend.
High pressure and warmer air
The Met Office added: "The change begins with developments over the Atlantic. A deep area of low pressure is expected to form well to the west of the UK."
Although this system is not forecast to move directly across the country, it is likely to drag warmer air up from the continent and subtropical Atlantic.
"High pressure will then build across the UK alongside this warmer air during the latter part of the weekend and into next week. This would mean a transition to predominantly dry and bright conditions, with sunny spells becoming more widespread."
Thursday is expected to see downpours across the nation along with bright spells. And forecasters warned the warmer weather could be dashed by a colder front from the west next week.
The Met Office said there could be "spells of rain and showers interspersed with some short-lived spells of more settled weather and temperatures returning to near normal overall".
Hosepipe bans and drought
Meanwhile, around 30 million people in England remain affected by hosepipe bans. Nearly nine in 10 adults in Britain have taken at least one step to cut back on water use in the past month, as many areas of the country remain officially in drought despite recent rainfall.
A summer of record-breaking heat and persistent dry weather has left reservoir levels well below average, besides damaging crops, harming wildlife and disrupting this year's harvest.
Some 88% of respondents to a survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said they had taken at least one step to cut water usage in August.
The figure was highest among people aged 70 and over, at 92%, falling to 90% for those aged 50 to 69, and 85% for both 16 to 29-year-olds and 30 to 49-year-olds.
