UK weather forecast: Britain to be hotter than the Mediterranean with highs of 28C

Britain will be hotter than the Mediterranean "all week" with 28C highs expected, while May is on course to be the driest for 124 years.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said Sunday could well beat the hottest day of the year so far, recorded at 28.2C in Santon Downham in Suffolk last week.

But the hot and dry weather this month, which has seen Brits flock to beaches and other beauty spots as lockdown restrictions are eased, has come at a price.

Reservoirs are half-empty months after winter floods, leading some fear a hosepipe ban is inevitable.

Just 15mm of rain - down 80 per cent on average - has fallen in Britain's driest place, Boulmer, Northumberland, near Newcastle, in over two months since mid-March, Met Office figures show.

And much of the South-East has had under 2mm of rain this month, with parts of Britain drier than the Sahara Desert.

Laghouat, a camel oasis in the Algerian Sahara, receives 36mm of rain between mid-March and late May on average.

Met Office forecaster Nicola Maxey told The Sun : "Chances are we are going to see the all-time record broken - making this month England's driest May since 1896."

Figures for the UK as a whole show 31.5mm of rain has fallen so far this May. The record - also set in 1896 - is 19.1mm.

One water company has applied for a drought order to manage Ennerdale Water in the Lake District, while Simon Fluendy, from Southern Water, said the company was already urging more frugal water usage.

Ex-BBC and Met Office forecaster John Hammond of weathertrending said: “The lack of rain in charts is of increasing concern.”

However, a Met Office spokeswoman said: "It's been a very dry month across the board, but we do have about a week left and things could become a bit unsettled."

Temperatures are expected to dip into the teens in early June.

Referring to this week's scorching temperatures, Mr Dewhurst said: "We're going to see temperatures well above the average.

"It'll get even hotter as we approach the weekend with 28C possible on Sunday.

"It could beat the record for the hottest day of the year so far."

UK 5 day weather forecast

Today:

Rather cloudy at times for north-western parts, with some rain or drizzle expected across western Scotland later this afternoon and evening. Elsewhere any early cloud clearing to leave a largely sunny and very warm day. Refreshingly cooler near coasts.

Tonight:

England and Wales dry with clear spells. Rather cloudy further north with some further rain and drizzle for parts of Scotland.

Thursday:

A cloudy start with some patchy drizzle in the far north before brightening through the day with most places joining southern areas in having another very warm and dry day.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

idely very warm and sunny, although often a little cooler along eastern coasts. A minimal risk of an isolated shower developing across the far northwest each afternoon.