Sweltering temperatures will only fall slightly despite England’s unprecedented extreme heat warning coming to an end.

Sun worshippers do not need to fret that they have basked in their final rays as the mercury will still be climbing towards 30C as the heatwave continues.

England reached its hottest temperature of the year on Tuesday when 32.2C was recorded at Heathrow Airport in west London, and on Thursday a sizzling 31.1C high was recorded in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Despite the amber heat warning expiring in England just before midnight on Thursday, temperatures are expected to hit balmy highs of 27C or 28C in Ross-on-Wye on Friday.

Wales basked in its highest temperature of the year so far on Thursday with 31.2C in Gogerddan – and it will remain hot on Friday with the mercury climbing to as high as 29C.

Scotland also recorded its highest temperature of the year so far with 29.3C in Threave.

Meanwhile, the scorching 31.4C experienced in Armagh at 3.20pm on Thursday is Northern Ireland’s highest temperature on record – with the chance of the figure being broken yet again on Friday.

Speaking about the extreme heat warning that was in place in England, Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “It’s an amber warning so it’s quite an extreme one, and it’s for extreme heat.

“So whilst temperatures aren’t plummeting tomorrow, they are still going to be on the high side, it’s less likely to cause significant impacts like we’ve seen over the past couple of days.”

The heat warning remains in place in Northern Ireland, and speaking on Thursday night, Mr Burkill said: “Temperatures there could be even higher than today.

“So for a few days we’ve had their highest ever temperature. It was beaten yesterday, it was beaten again today, and it could well be beaten again tomorrow.

“So I think it could be four days within a week where they’ve recorded their highest ever temperature.”

There are currently yellow warnings for rain in place for much of England and Wales for over the weekend, but there is a chance these may be changed to thunderstorm warnings.

Meanwhile, the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) said it is aware of 17 incidents of accidental loss of life in the water between July 17-20.

Lee Heard, RLSS UK’s charity director, said: “Whilst we recognise how tempting it is to cool off in the UK’s beautiful waterways, they hide hazards that tragically take lives each year and we urge the public to use caution when entering the water, getting acclimatised to the water temperature before jumping in.

“The difference between the air temperature and water temperature can literally take your breath away; this is called cold water shock. It is silent, invisible and deadly.

“Water can also hide debris, strong currents and sudden changes in depth that can catch out even the strongest swimmers.

“The Royal Life Saving Society UK urge everyone to learn vital skills and knowledge to prevent future accidental drownings.”

There were also two further reports of people going missing in the water.

All the incidents occurred in England, except for one which happened in Northern Ireland.