https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/cly77zjey40o
Temperatures in the United Kingdom could exceed 30C (86F) for up to 10 consecutive days as the third heatwave of the year gets underway.
From the middle of the week, the heat is forecast to intensify with temperatures of up to 34C (93F) for some.
Amber heat-health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the Midlands, eastern and southern England from 09:00 BST on 8 July to 21:00 BST on 12 July.
Meanwhile, yellow heat-health alerts have been issued across northern England for the same period.
Significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
Temperatures to intensify from midweek
Parts of south-east England met official heatwave conditions as of Monday afternoon, with additional regions likely to meet their local thresholds as the week goes on.
Heat is forecast to build from Wednesday with temperatures across England and east Wales getting into the high 20s and low 30s Celsius.
But, it is in London and south-east England where the temperature may peak at around 34C on Wednesday and Thursday.
What is an official heatwave in the UK?
This heatwave is unlikely to be as extreme as the one in late June when temperatures peaked at a record-breaking 37.7C.
However, some weather forecasting models are suggesting there is a chance that parts of the UK could see temperatures in the mid- to high 30s later in the week.
Heatwave to last longer but nights to bring some relief
After the last heatwave featured a number of nights when temperatures didn't fall below 20C (68F) - also known as a tropical night - this spell of hot weather will be more forgiving.
Nighttime temperatures are not expected to be as high as those experienced in June, though some larger urban areas are likely to remain in the high teens overnight. This is especially likely later in the week.
It is not out of the question that a tropical night may be recorded in a few places.
Although this heatwave will allow for some overnight relief, the length of the hot spell will set it apart from those seen in May and June.
The current forecasts suggests a temperature could exceed 30C somewhere in the UK for up to 10 consecutive days.
During the June heatwave the temperature exceeded 30C somewhere in the UK on seven consecutive days. In the May heatwave, it was six days.
Sammy Wilson said he was responding to “innuendo and speculation” about him in recent days, given that he had shared accommodation with Donaldson at Westminster over a decade ago.
Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted last week of 18 sex offences, including one count of rape, against two women when they were children. Claims about his personal conduct have followed, which although not criminal, has raised questions about who in the DUP knew his private life contradicted his public persona
Speaking on the issue for the first time, Mr Wilson told the News Letter that the pair rarely spent time together in the apartment they shared for a number of years in the late noughties.
The East Antrim MP says that despite claims that his former colleague was a heavy drinker, there was never any alcohol in the flat and he did not witness him “stumbling in drunk”.
However, he said that Donaldson would have spent a lot of weekends in London, whereas he did not.
Mr Wilson said Donaldson would have attended many more social events than he did. He said they were often “like ships in the night” and led quite different lives. While Donaldson travelled to parliament on the tube, Wilson went on a motorbike he kept in London.
He also recalls very few of Donaldson’s personal possessions were ever in the flat, saying “you’d think he was never there”.
The DUP MP told the News Letter: “There has been much innuendo and speculation about me in recent days.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that during the time I worked alongside Jeffrey Donaldson, including when we shared accommodation, I never witnessed any behaviour or conduct that gave me cause for concern.
“Had I seen anything that raised concerns, I would have reported it immediately through the appropriate channels”.
The East Antrim MP said he would not be making any further comment on what he called “unfounded speculation”.
Sammy Wilson was elected to parliament in 2005, and although he can’t remember the exact dates, shared accommodation with Donaldson until around 2010.
The pair’s political relationship soured spectacularly in the period leading up to Donaldson’s arrest for child sex offences in 2024.
Sammy Wilson was among a small number of senior DUP figures who publicly challenged Donaldson on his claim to have removed the Irish Sea border.
In the weeks after the Safeguarding the Union deal, Mr Wilson quit as the DUP’s chief whip at Westminster.
There were sharp exchanges between the pair in the House of Commons when the DUP-Tory arrangement was being debated.
“It is well known that I don’t support the deal. I have given reasons why not”, Mr Wilson told MPs – saying that legislation giving the EU the “final say” was still in place.
He also questioned the arrangements for the red lane – prompting a rebuke from his party leader.
Donaldson, looking towards Sammy Wilson on the Commons benches, said: “The red lane was endorsed by my party. The red lane was supported by my party. And every one of my MPs voted for that proposal.”
He said he had gone further than the party’s response to the Windsor Framework in removing the green lane from the new arrangements.
The green lane was not removed, as the EU did not agree to any fundamental changes to the framework. Instead, it was rebranded the UK Internal Market System under the Safeguarding the Union deal.
Output in the north’s construction sector reached a new all-time high of £4.9 billion in cash terms during the last financial year, driven by a significant boom in activity in the housing sector, official data suggests.
Activity in the Northern Ireland housing sector grew by 7.6% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).
It left housing output up 27.4% over the 2025/26 financial year, taking the sector to a new 15-year high.
The data factors in both new construction and repair and maintenance work across housing.
The latest government data shows that the overall output in the north’s construction sector declined by 1% in the first three months of the year.
It marked the first quarter of decline following three quarters of successive growth between April and December 2025.
Despite the slowdown in the first three months of the year, output in the sector was still up 10.1% over the year, largely driven by a major increase in activity in the housing sector..
Nisra said construction output remains historically high, and was 23% above the pre-pandemic level seen in Q4 2019.
The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) said construction output in the 2025/26 financial year had reached £4.9 billion in cash terms.
The industry body said when the figures are adjusted for inflation, output was close to £1bn higher than in 2020/21.
Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) director, Ciaran Fox.
Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) director, Ciaran Fox.
“Construction output is back to levels last seen in 2008/09,” said the RSUA.
Private Housing in 2025/26 was up 23% in real terms on 2024/25, while social housing was up 38%.
“The local construction sector has continued to grow over the last 12 months despite the dysfunction of the Northern Ireland Executive,” said RSUA director, Ciarán Fox.
However, he warned indecision at Stormont is impacting the progress.
“Architects are busy at the moment but there are real concerns that this period of almost shadow government and the near absence of decision-making is storing up trouble for future years,” he said.
Listing the problems facing the construction industry, Mr Fox said: “There’s no budget for the current year, not to mention the three-year one that was heralded; there’s no agreed Investment Strategy, the last one ran out in 2021; there’s no plan to adequately fund the upgrade of our wastewater infrastructure that enables development; there’s no action plan for the Housing Supply Strategy a year after it was due; there’s no update to the building regulations, which was due three years ago, to decarbonise new buildings and ensure what gets built today won’t need retrofitted in the 2030s.
“That’s just the start.
“For the good of the economy, the environment and for housing supply we need a government making decisions not one that is frozen,” he added.