UK set for SIXTH heatwave as another 1.4m people are hit with hosepipe ban

UK set for SIXTH heatwave as another 1.4m people are hit with hosepipe ban A sixth heatwave could be on the way while another water company announces a hosepipe ban - car washes and public pools could soon be hit The Met Office has warned that the UK could be gripped by a sixth heatwave of the year, next month. As the nation desperately waits for rainfall amid widespread droughts, the agency's latest long-range forecast - from August 31 to September 14 - said temperatures are "likely to be above average overall" for the period. The Met Office said high pressure could be centred close to the south of the UK while more changeable conditions develop towards the north and northwest. The organisation's forecast added: "Meanwhile, drier, more settled weather is slightly more likely towards the south and east." Extreme weather this summer has led to five heatwaves across the country, with the last leading to the UK's hottest day of the year so far. A provisional recording of 38.1C at Kew Gardens was made on August 13. A heatwave is an extended period of hot weather, compared to expected conditions for that time of the year - it is met when an area records at least three consecutive days with maximum temperatures at or over the heatwave threshold. This come as the Met Office warned summer 2026 in the UK is on course to be the hottest since records began. Provisional statistics show the mean temperature for the summer so far, from June 1, stands at 16.48C – which is 1.88C above the 1991 to 2020 average. This comes as another water company, Wessex Water, announced a hosepipe ban. The firm said the temporary measure will come into effect from midnight on Tuesday for all 1.4 million customers across areas in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Wessex Water last enforced a temporary ban 50 years ago, in 1976. Ruth Jefferson, Wessex Water's chief executive, said: "While we're not running out of water for essential use, our challenge has been moving water through the network quickly enough to meet these record levels of demand." Nine other water companies have implemented hosepipe bans, on around 27 million people in England, but ministers were reportedly told bans could soon hit car washes and private swimming pools, according to The Times. A "reasonable worst-case scenario" has reportedly been penned by officials in Whitehall that would include restrictions on businesses if the low levels of rainfall continue, The Times reported. Non-essential use bans (NEUBs), which are more serious than hosepipe bans, are applied by water companies and can be introduced if dry conditions continue. They impact commercial water use by businesses and could curb the cleaning of industrial plants, refilling private pools and car washes. So far only Southern Water has applied for a NEUB, saying an "exceptional" lack of rain has threatened supplied in Hampshire and the Isle of White. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006. A temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues came into force due to fears they pose a "significant risk to the public, and the enviroment", the government said. Guidelines said: "Disposable barbecues have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months." Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the country as a "tinderbox", last week, and urged the public not to light fires. The PM said this ahead of a meeting with farmers whom he warned are "at the sharp end of a changing climate".