Normal British summer service will be resumed

SUN WORSHIPPERS were advised yesterday to make the most of Britain's hot weather because experts say it will likely come to an abrupt end.

After a week when almost the entire country has been bathed in sunshine, forecasters at the Meteorological Office warned that, for the time being at least, temperatures will drop.

"We expect to see cooler temperatures in the west of the country which will eventually make their way across Britain," a spokesman for the Met office said, "The cooler front will also bring showers with it."

Last week saw temperatures in many areas consistently exceeding 30C (almost 86F) for the first time this year, with Barbourne in Worcester topping the heat league at 31.6C (the hottest recorded this year). Weathermen issued smog warnings, saying that asthma sufferers would notice "significant effects" from air pollution.

But by the middle of this week temperatures in England and Wales should fall to below 25C (77F) and are expected stay at that level for the near future.

London will continue to be Britain's warmest big city with temperatures slightly over 25C while cloudy Aberdeen will be the coolest of Britain's major centres with temperatures dipping to around 17C (63F)

The Met Office spokesman reassured Britain's sun lovers that there could well be more hot snaps this year. "This is not the end of summer as there are likely to be more hot periods in the year," he said.

Asthma sufferers will not mind slightly lower temperatures. Soaring thermometers encourage motorists to head to the coast to lap up the sun, thus raising the level of pollutants, such as ozone and car emissions, in the atmosphere which in turn can lead to more attacks.

"Individual asthma sufferers will have different triggers, but many are affected by poor air quality." a spokeswoman for the National Asthma Campaign said. "We advise people who are particularly affected by poor air to call the Air Pollution Information Service regularly for information about their areas."