Heatwaves 'exceptional', says meteorological chief

The chief executive of a meteorological society has described the heatwaves this year as "unprecedented" and "exceptional".

On Thursday the UK experienced its hottest day of the year and fifth hottest day on record, as a heatwave that gripped much of the country peaked at 38.1C, the Met Office said.

Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society in Reading, said "summers are going to become hotter and drier".

"We're seeing that being played out quite readily now.... It is kind of the new norm for us in the UK," she added.

The latest spell of extreme heat marks the UK's fifth heatwave this year, with the Met Office warning this summer is on course to be the UK's hottest since records began.

More than 27 million people in England and Wales have been placed under a hosepipe ban as some water companies struggle to cope with the dry weather and high demand for water.

Bentley said: "The concerns are if we go into autumn and if it is a particularly dry winter, then we go into next year which again we could end up with a potential you know similar scenario, that we could be under some real problems next year.

"We've got hose pipe bans this year but if we have a second summer particularly with a drier winter as well that we could have some severe problems next year."

She said these severe problems could be that we run out of water.

"The other thing, and we've noticed that this year, the heat and the dry conditions, we're seeing more wildfires," said Bentley.

She added: "That is one of the growing risk in the UK.

"We have these national risk registers and we have a climate change committee that looks at how our climate's changing, and wildfires is seen as one of the growing risks - something I never really thought would become a problem in the UK."

In the New Forest, an area the size of about 230 football pitches has been affected by a wildfire.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whose government issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues on Friday, told the BBC: "Britain is a tinderbox right now."