The London Daily News

News Desk - Severe weather warning for London 

Update 3:30pm

The Fire Brigade have confirmed that eight fire engines and around 40 firefighters are attending a fire in a block of flats on Abbey Street in Bermondsey caused a bolt of thunder.

The fire is in a flat on the seventeenth floor of the 21 storey block. Half of the flat is alight. The Brigade was called at 1359. Crews from Old Kent Road, Bow, Kingsland, Southwark, Dockhead, Whitechapel, Silvertown, Lambeth and Dowgate are at the scene. The cause is not known at this stage.

The Met Office has issued a "severe weather warning" today with scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday having the potential to bring isolated rainfall totals of 15 to 30 mm in a few hours, with a risk of flash flooding and large hail.

The public are advised to take extra care by the Met Office.  Temperatures in London peaked at 30 degrees centigrade on Sunday, with forecasts claiming the temperature will plummet to 20 degrees by the end of this week.

The South-East of England was facing potential water shortages and drought warnings for eastern England and parts of east of Anglia.