North Herts and Stevenage set for scorching 29C by the end of next week

After the driest July since 1935, the Met Office is forecasting more hot sunshine throughout early August.

On Saturday, August 6 the mercury is set to hit 22C with 6mph wind in Stevenage.

Sunday, August 7 is set to be slightly warmer, with highs of 24C.

The Met Office is warning that UV levels are likely to be high throughout Hertfordshire, with medium-level pollen.

The temperature is set to heat up again on Monday and Tuesday, before reaching a scorching 29C on Wednesday, August 10.

Wednesday's weather in Lanzarote is set to be a cooler 26C with cloud and 16mph gusts.

In London, temperatures are set to rise from 23C on Saturday to 26C on Sunday, before levelling out against Stevenage at 29C on Wednesday.

Nearby Cambridge is set to experience similar temperatures to Stevenage throughout the week, while Birmingham - the host city for the Commonwealth Games 2022 - should experience cloud with sunny spells, with highs of 22C over the weekend.

Jack, aged two, Hitchin Lavender, Hertfordshire (Image: Ian West/PA Archive/PA Images)

In nearby Cambridge, some visitors and residents took to the River Cam to cool off (Image: Jacob King/PA Wire/PA Images)

Hertfordshire residents heading to the coast on Saturday and Sunday should expect to feel highs of 22C in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and 20C in Cromer, Norfolk.

The warm, dry weather follows record-breaking July weather.

According to the Met Office, England received just 35 per cent of its average July rainfall - a total 23.1mm.

A new hottest temperature record for Hertfordshire was set on July 19 in Buntingford, East Herts at 39.2C, beating the previous 37.9C record set at Aldenham, near Watford on August 10, 2003.

St Albans Cathedral on July 19, 2022, when Hertfordshire's heat record was broken as the mercury hit 39.2C (Image: Will Durrant)

Dr Mark McCarthy of the National Climate Information Centre said: "July 2022 has been a significantly dry month for southern England, only 10.5mm of rain has been provisionally recorded on average, less than the previous record of 10.9mm set in 1911.

"The dominant weather pattern for the month has only allowed interludes of rain into northern areas of the UK, with areas further south largely getting any rainfall from isolated and fleeting showers in a month that will ultimately be remembered for extreme heat."

Mikolag, aged nine, at Stanborough Lakes, Welwyn Garden City during the heatwave (Image: Karyn Haddon)

Autumn and Oliver in the sea in East Anglia during the July 2022 heatwave (Image: Danielle Booden/Archant)

The Met Office long-range forecast for the period Monday, August 8 to Wednesday, August 17 reads: "Most places are likely to see a fair amount of settled weather at the start of this period, with a mix of cloud and sunny spells across the country.

"Rather cloudy in the north on Monday, perhaps with some rain in the far north, but some bright or sunny spells to the lee of high ground and fine and dry elsewhere.

"Temperatures generally close to or slightly above average, and perhaps very warm or even hot in central and southern parts.

"Further into the period there is still the chance of some periods of organised rain in the north, but generally the dry weather is likely to persist across the country.

"Temperatures remaining above average widely, with further spells of very warm weather possible."