Image source, Reuters

Firefighters are still responding to emergency calls despite services facing significant pressure, London Fire Brigade says.

Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Smith says: "The moment someone sees what they may even think is a small fire, they need to make sure that they call 999 and ask for the fire brigade as quickly as possible.”

Smith says the ground is “tinder-box dry” and is appealing to the public to avoid having barbecues in public parks and grassland.

He says rubbish, such as broken glass or cigarette buds that have not been properly put out, can cause sparks that can result in a “significant incident”.

The record temperatures are a “real present challenge” for the London Fire Brigade, he says, adding: “It's now part of our future planning to make sure that we've got the necessary resources in place to deal with these incidents as they occur.”

Nick Johnson
Reporting from Wennington

Image source, PA Media

John Bishop has lived in Wennington with his partner for the past decade. He saw the fire from his back window as it began to spread.

“It’s a tricky situation - the main thing is everyone is safe. I really don’t know about my home, I’ve been keeping an eye on it on the news via the helicopter pictures. The fire became an inferno incredibly quickly”.

“I saw a compost heap which went up in flames and I’m wondering if that was the source of this fire.”

Villagers have been congregating at the nearby Premier Inn and attached restaurant - the power in both is now off, and seems to be off in most of the village.

Image source, PA Media

Minister for London Paul Scully has said "there was always going to be pressure on the emergency services" during the UK heatwave.

Scully told BBC Radio 4's PM programme it's important not to "stoke panic and fear" but also necessary to encourage people to be sensible, not to overburden emergency services, and to look out for the vulnerable.

He also called events experienced during the UK's heatwave over the last couple of days an "emergency".

"It's really difficult, we need to get through it," he said.

Image source, Reuters

The hot, dry and windy conditions mean it's not surprising to see these wildfires breaking out in the south of England, explains Prof Nigel Arnell, Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of Reading.They mean the smallest spark can set off a fire.

"Wildfire is a rather unrecognised hazard in the UK. Whilst we might not see sorts of the forest fires currently sweeping through Spain, Portugal and France, we are increasingly prone to fires in grassland and moorland," he says,

These fires have the potential to affect homes too.

"So far we’ve been lucky, but that may not hold for long. Climate change is increasing fire danger across the UK, and we need to be prepared for it,” he adds.

Our data team have been busy creating maps and charts to show the risks associated with climate change - the image below shows the increased likelihood of fires.

There's more on the heatwave in maps and charts here.

Image source, .

Back in Wennington, a woman tells the BBC her uncle is stuck in a house unable to reach the cordon and is digging a trench around his house to stop the flames.

It's currently 39C in the village to the east of London.

Residents there say at least eight houses and the local church have been at least partially destroyed.

We're just getting some more pictures from the scene, take a look:

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Scotland has recorded its hottest day with a temperature of 34.8C.

The Met Office confirmed the high was recorded at Charterhall in the Scottish Borders.

It surpasses the previous Scottish record of 32.9C recorded in Greycrook in the Borders on 9 August 2003.

The body of a teenage boy has been recovered from the River Thames in the London borough of Richmond.

It is believed to be the body of a 14-year-old boy who had been missing since entering the water at Tagg's Island in Hampton yesterday afternoon.

After an extensive search, the boy's body was located today at 15:30, Met police said. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

More records now.

The latest peak high stands at 40.3C in Coningsby, according to provisional figures from the Met Office, but it's just one of at least 29 observation sites across England where the previous 2019 record has been broken.

Here are the latest max temperatures this afternoon:

These images, taken from a helicopter, show how fire which spread from nearby grassland has affected the small village of Wennington, which lies in the east of London, near Essex.

Fire crews are still batting the blaze, which appears to have destroyed a number of homes.

The UK's record temperature has been broken again after the mercury reached 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire, according to the Met Office.

The provisional figure, as of 16:00 today, surpasses the earlier peak of 40.2C recorded at Heathrow.

Temperatures are still at that same high this afternoon at the London airport, as well as in St James's Park in the capital.

Kew Gardens was 40.1C as of 16:00, with Northolt at 40C and Cambridge at 39.9C.

Alexander Griffiths
By the A2 in Dartford

It was possible to smell the fire on the heathland before we could see it.

On a train heading to Dartford in Kent, where firefighters are tackling a blaze near the A2, the carriage windows were all wide open to allow some ventilation in the sweltering conditions.

The train was travelling slower than usual - it had to.

A number of passengers expressed shock at the wide column of smoke billowing across the sky.

And across the Thames to the north, an even darker plume could be seen, where the fire brigade are responding to a blaze in Wennington.

Nick Johnson
Reporting from Wennington, east London

There is a sense of anxiety from both police and locals here as we’re told the fire continues to spread eastwards. Lisa runs a horse stable and says there’s nothing left of their fields and she had to “grab the horses and run”.

Police are still deciding how to best position the cordon in order protect people, animals and buildings. One officer says there is major concern for remaining livestock and buildings and that gas canisters need to be moved as they are an obvious explosion risk.

While the billowing black smoke seems to have dissipated where we are, there is a sense here that the danger has not passed.

Image source, Reuters

London Fire Brigade is now tackling ten separate blazes across the capital as a result of grass fires caused by the soaring temperatures.

The fire service is asking the public to take care as emergency services are facing "unprecedented challenges", according to LFB's assistant commissioner for operational resilience and control.

Patrick Goulbourne says while the brigade remains ready to respond to incidents, it wants to ensure its resources are available for people "who really need our help".

"If you see a fire smouldering, please don't hesitate to call us," he says.

"The sooner we know about a fire, the sooner we can bring it under control and prevent it from spreading further, reducing the need for us to mobilise additional resources."

Here's the scene in Wennington, east London, this afternoon, where 15 fire engines are tackling fires.

The London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident, external and urged people not to have barbecues or bonfires due to the "unprecedented" challenges crews face.

Matt Taylor
BBC Weather

The new UK temperature record of 40.2C at Heathrow earlier has been matched in more locations.

At 3pm, Coningsby (Lincolnshire) also equalled 40.2C, while Kew Gardens in London has seen a temperature of 40.1C.

Other areas where the heat is approaching 40C this afternoon are:

• Northolt, 39.9C
• Cambridge, 39.9C
• St James's Park, London, 39.9C.

A large swathe of eastern England, from Surrey to South Yorkshire sits between 39 and 40 degrees, meaning a significant number of weather stations have exceeded the previous UK temperature record of 38.7C.

Fresher conditions are now arriving across areas in the far west - a yellow warning has been issued for heavy showers and thunderstorms which may bring disruption during tomorrow afternoon.

Image source, Getty Images

Climate scientists have been sounding the warning bell for years about how climate change is affecting us. Here's what some of them have said today.

“40C at Heathrow would have been extremely unlikely or virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. It’s now an event that shouldn’t have surprised anyone. While still rare, 40C is now a reality of British summers," says Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London.

It is in our hands whether every future heatwave will continue to be extremely deadly and disruptive, she adds.

The temperature record in the UK has been not just broken but "absolutely obliterated," says Prof Hannah Cloke, natural hazards researcher at the University of Reading.

Britain is not used to these conditions, she says, explaining that our whole way of life - our cities and infrastructure - were built for a different kind of climate.

And Dr Sam Fankhauser, professor of climate economics at Oxford University says: “Today’s record-breaking heat is a stark reminder of the impacts of climate change and the urgent need to decrease global carbon emissions and stabilise our climate."

More than 250 firefighters are now tackling three grass fires in London.

About 175 firefighters are on Pea Lane in Upminster, east London, with smoke billowing over the M25 motorway.

More than 85 firefighters are at the site of two fires in Croydon woodlands, to the south of the capital.

Eight fire engines with 60 firefighters have been sent to tackle one of these, in Shirley Hills.

Another four fire engines are also at the site of a grass fire on Chapel View in south Croydon, where woodland and undergrowth is alight.

All trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes have been suspended as emergency services deal with a fire near the track.

The blaze was caused when overhead electric cables came down in Harrow in north London, which Network Rail said was caused by the extreme temperatures.

All services to and from London Euston are suspended until further notice

Around 100 firefighters are currently at the scene of a fire which is approaching a residential area in Wennington, to the east of London.

London Fire Brigade says 15 fire engines are tackling the blaze.

Footage shows scorched fields and thick black smoke billowing into the air.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, just tweeted that the London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident after it has had to tackle several fires across the capital.

The mayor says the situation is "critical" as the service is "under immense pressure".