All UK nations have experienced recent heatwave conditions but in southern England, the heatwave has now continued for 14 days.

It has also been very dry with no measurable rain recorded in central England for 15 days - the longest dry spell here since June 1996. With temperatures rising on Friday afternoon, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire has seen 14 consecutive days with a temperature above their heatwave threshold of 27C. Forecasters are also expecting the highest temperature in the UK on Friday to exceed 30C for the 13th consecutive day, the longest such spell since 2006. However, the 1976 UK record of 16 days at or above 30C seems unlikely to be broken. One of the most striking features of this heatwave has been how long it has lasted. Several factors have come together to create this intense and lengthy spell. First, our climate is changing - fast. Temperatures in the UK are now on average 1.33C warmer than they were during 1961-1990. However, the very hottest days have warmed three times quicker than this - by 4.5C in the Greater London region - according to the Met Office. Secondly, the weather set-up so far this summer has been especially conducive for building heat. The jet stream has meandered well to the north of the UK, allowing high pressure to build and warm air to drift in from the south. As the high pressure has been so slow moving we have seen the development of a "heat dome".