MORE than half of Britain is shown baked brown in this amazing satellite image released yesterday — and the scorching heatwave will continue for days yet.
Much of the nation looked like desert in the astonishing snap as the UK blistered in 34C (93F) in the driest summer for more than 40 years, while shoppers panic-bought water.
The satellite image shows more than half of Britain has been baked brown during the summer of heatwaves
Walkers at Hyde Park wander on earth parched brown by the ongoing drought
And as firefighters battled blazes, golfers and cricketers played on islands of green amid parched land and government officials discussed drought policy, forecasters promised rain for some by Sunday.
Millions again took advantage of the roasting weather — heading for beaches, riverbanks and pools to soak up the sun, take a dip, or both.
Shoppers stripped supermarket shelves of water — with some cheeky customers reportedly hoarding bottles in paddling pools.
The National Drought Group, made up of government officials, water firm chiefs and farmers, meets today and will declare some parts in drought, it is thought.
It would mean water companies in southern and eastern areas could impose further restrictions on domestic water use and even lower water pressure to homes.
Water bosses would also be granted powers to prevent boats from using rivers and canals, stop irrigation and move water between different regions in huge tankers.
With 36C (97F) predicted for tomorrow, Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson tweeted he had been ordered to stop work on his farm in case sparks caused a blaze.
The fuming broadcaster wrote: “F***etty f***. Had to stop harvesting because of, and I’m not making this up, the fire risk.”
In London, fire chiefs reported 340 grass, rubbish and open land blazes during the first week of August, including one in Leytonstone, East London, yesterday. It’s an eight-fold increase on last year, with crews urging families not to barbecue in open spaces.
Riccardo la Torre, national officer of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “There are 11,500 fewer firefighters than in 2010. Even if we had the same numbers now, it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the fires. Conditions are absolutely brutal.
“On the hottest days there are fire engines standing idle because there are not enough firefighters to crew them.” In the capital’s Hyde Park, parched grass has turned the colour of sand.
Wildfires threatened to run out of control in the South West.
Firefighting chiefs in Cornwall said the county was not sufficiently well equipped to deal with the blazes, following a dozen fires during the past week. Crews were out again yesterday battling a blaze near Newquay.
The country’s Fire Severity Index, which assesses how easily a blaze could spread, has already been raised to the highest, “exceptional” level for the South. The warning system has been at its second highest alert level for seven weeks following the driest start to the year since 1976.
An amber heat health alert — in place since Tuesday — could be stepped up as the baking temperatures continue. Yet there could be hope of rain on the horizon, the Met Office says.
Forecaster Craig Snell said: “There could be some showers on Sunday evening, particularly in western areas.
“As we get to the end of the weekend we’re going to see the breakdown of the heatwave and this will move widely across the country from Monday.
“It could be quite unstable, heavy and thundery, which could bring localised flooding and difficult driving conditions. And not everyone will see this rain.
“But it certainly does look like we are going to see more showers into next week and the weather should be more changeable.
“There will still be some spells of sunshine and temperatures will drop down to the mid-20s, but we can expect it to be more typical of what you expect UK summers to be like.”
Meanwhile, as anger continued over water wastage, Stuart Colville, director of policy at Water UK, said it was a “constant battle” to prevent leaks. He insisted that the water industry was doing “everything possible” to do so.
In the village of Haddenham, Bucks, Anglian Water staff handed out bottles of water after their supply was cut off. Bosses said it would be fixed by 9pm last night and blamed technical issues.
Lines are still visible on this sun-baked footie pitch in Reading
Putting green encircled by parched brown grass in Oxfordshire
Batters and bowlers stand out on the strip for this cricket match in Milton Keynes
