London weather LIVE: Hottest June day ever predicted for capital as heatwave epicentre shifts onto city

A temperature of 30.5C has been recorded in Heathrow this morning, as early as 9am.

The Met Office is expecting it to exceed 31C by 10am, with highs of between 36C and 38C expected between 2pm and 5pm.

36.7C was recorded in Merryfield in Somerset yesterday afternoon, breaking the record for the hottest June day ever in the UK.

That could well be surpassed today – either in London or elsewhere in the south.

Sir Sadiq Khan is coming under pressure to speed up the rollout of air conditioning on the Tube as London frazzles in its second heatwave of the year.

With temperatures in the mid 30s, the Mayor of London has been urged to sort out delays in new rolling stock with air con for the Piccadilly line.

Opposition politicians also stressed that this must be a step towards air conditioning on the whole of the Underground network as the capital faces hotter weather due to climate change.

The first of 94 new Piccadilly trains had originally been expected to enter service late last year and to bring in air con for the first time on a deep Tube line.

But this was first put back into the second half of this year and is now expected to happen between December and June next year.

You can read the full story here:

Thermal camera footage has revealed extreme temperatures as high as 62C on pavements and train station platforms in London amid the record-breaking heatwave.

While the air temperature hovered at around 35C in the capital on Wednesday, the pavement on Regent Street hit a sweltering 57C and 56C in Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street.

It was even hotter at Highbury and Islington train station, where the Overground platform peaked at a blistering 62C.

You can read the full story here:

The mercury is rising across the TfL network and many commuters will be dreading the their morning commute during rush hour.

The Standard took to the Tube to find out which lines really are the hottest.

The Central line once again claimed the crown as London’s hottest Tube line, reaching a blistering 39.4C, while the Lizzie line reigned supreme as the coolest line on the network.

Take a watch for yourself as The Standard’s Luke Reevey reports.

Millions of homes around London have been placed under water restrictions as the heatwave continues.

In Kent, South East Water has announced a hosepipe ban to limit the use of water.

Those using a hosepipe could face a £1,000 fine while the rules are in place.

The ban does not officially come into force until July 3, but customers have been asked to follow it “immediately”.

You can read the full story here.

The extreme heat has sent sales of cooling devices soaring this week.

Chain store Lakeland has said that electric fan sales were up 600% week-on-week, making up 17% of all its online sales between Tuesday and Thursday.

Toolstation has reported similar numbers, selling 333% more fans than last week and 220% more air conditioners.

Sales of hoses were up 38%, and sprinklers 37%.

According to Met Office data, temperatures in London never dipped below 23C last night.

It was already 26.3C by 7am, and is set to be into the 30s by 10am this morning.

Highs of around 36C are expected by the early afternoon.

Rail services operating in and out of London have recommended passengers not to travel today due to soaring temperatures.

Operators are also advising passengers to travel earlier in the day to avoid the worst of the heat.

Red and amber weather warnings are in place for extreme heat, with the Met Office advising that temperatures are expected to remain high until at least Saturday, with highs of up to 38C.

You can see the the advice from each key rail line serving London here:

Schools, offices and hospitals in London should be fitted with air conditioning as heatwaves in the capital become more frequent, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said.

It comes as the mayor unveiled Heat Ready London — a city-wide strategy designed to help the capital adapt and better prepare for extreme heat events.

Climate projections suggest London could face two to three times more heatwaves in the next 20 years, with around one million homes at serious risk of overheating, alongside 1,361 schools, 60 hospitals and 351 care homes.

A report from City Hall urges stronger protections for people most vulnerable to extreme heat, alongside measures to retrofit buildings, expand access to cooling spaces, and strengthen the resilience of infrastructure.

You can read the full story here.

The heatwave is being driven by a “heat-dome” – an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat – settling over western Europe and bringing extreme conditions across the continent.

Human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense, according to the Met Office.

Greg Wolverson, deputy chief meteorologist said: “We’ve seen a new provisional June maximum temperature record for a second consecutive day as the heatwave continues.

“This marks unprecedented heat for the month of June and provides further evidence of how high temperature extremes are becoming increasingly common in the UK as a result of human-induced climate change.

“There’s a chance of this record being challenged again as the warmth moves more markedly east on Friday, before a gradual easing in temperatures through the weekend.”