Heatwave warning rises as Britain bakes

The heatwave warning alert has been raised from level two to level three as Britain gets ready for more baking temperatures. The highest temperatures will be in London, making Wimbledon fans - and players - somewhat uncomfortable. Temperatures are expected to hit 33C by Thursday. Eddy Carroll, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "Temperatures are likely to peak today and tomorrow, reaching 32C (90F) before becoming less hot by the weekend as noticeably fresher conditions with the risk of showers push east across the country." Level three means high temperatures are reached and sustained in one or more regions, with two consecutive very warm nights and a hot intervening day. The highest alert level is level four. The Government has set up a heatwave advice page on its own Directgov website as NHS Direct received hundreds of calls from patients suffering symptoms related to the heat. Forecaster Gareth Harvey said today could match yesterday - the hottest day of the year. He said: "This has been the hottest week we have had in several years. Areas of west London could be hottest." NHS Direct received 378 calls on Monday from people suffering symptoms related to the heat. As the capital's heatwave saw temperatures even higher than Bangkok, Trafalgar Square's fountains turned green as algae spread. The weather has sent sales of electrical fans and ice-cream soaring. Martin Doherty, commercial manager at Tesco, said: "This week's sunshine has meant that demand for fans has soared, and with more hot weather on the way, we would expect other summer products to be off the shelves." David Whiffen, Sainsbury's ice cream buyer, said: "We're expecting the best week for ice cream since the heat wave of 2006."

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ITN | July 1, 2009

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