live from london, this is bbc news. more than 100 people die in iran in two explosions near the grave of a top revolutionary guards commander. the united nations peacekeeping mission in lebanon says it is deeply concerned about rising tensions, following the killing of a senior hamas figure. also coming up this hour... on verified today, we have been investigating one hospital under attack in gaza, and a series of health facilities that have been affected by the war. aftershocks and heavy rain complicate earthquake rescue efforts injapan — at least 64 people are now confirmed dead. and junior doctors in england begin the longest strike in the health service's history, in a six—day walkout over pay.

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. welcome to verified live — three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. more than 100 people have been killed and scores of others injured in two explosions in south—eastern iran near the grave of a top revolutionary guards commander. state television says the blasts occurred in quick succession in the city of kerman, during a ceremony to mark the anniverssary of the killing of qassem soleimani. he was iran's most powerful military commander and was killed in 2020 by a us air strike in iraq. local officials say two bags containing explosives were detonated by remote control at the entrance to the burial site. with more on this, our bbc persian reporter, parham ghobadi, is in the newsroom. good to talk to you. bring us up to date on what war we know. figs

good to talk to you. bring us up to date on what war we know.- date on what war we know. as you mentioned. _ date on what war we know. as you mentioned, this _ date on what war we know. as you mentioned, this is _ date on what war we know. as you mentioned, this is one _ date on what war we know. as you mentioned, this is one of- date on what war we know. as you mentioned, this is one of the - mentioned, this is one of the deadliest attacks in iran in the past a0 years. it has been unprecedented, the number, the death toll is rising every every few minutes so far. they say many were injured and are in critical condition and we know at least one medic was among the casualties who was killed, two others at least are in critical conditions. they say that after the first explosion took place, the second, when medics and people rushed to be seen, the second explosion took place after ten minutes. what we don't know is that if all these people were killed because of the, as a result of the explosion or some of them were killed because of the stampede. and the reason i am saying that is because four years ago, this happened during a ceremony commemorating, marking the fourth anniversary of qasem soleimani's death. he was killed in a us drone

strike in iraq in 2020. during his burialfour strike in iraq in 2020. during his burial four years strike in iraq in 2020. during his burialfour years ago, 56 people were killed in a stampede, so what were killed in a stampede, so what we don't know at this stage is those who were killed today, some of them were killed in a stampede, again, because of the chaos and panic at the scene? or no, all of them were killed as a result of the two explosions that took place there. what reaction have we had to this so far? . . , what reaction have we had to this so far? . ., _, , what reaction have we had to this so far? . , , what reaction have we had to this so far? . , far? iran has considered this as a terrorist act _ far? iran has considered this as a terrorist act against _ far? iran has considered this as a terrorist act against iran - far? iran has considered this as a terrorist act against iran and - far? iran has considered this as a j terrorist act against iran and they said that they would definitely retaliate to whoever is responsible for this. they know no group has claimed responsibility for this. iranian media has also rejected the claims by israeli media that a top iran's revolutionary guards commander was killed. they say no commander was killed. they say no commander was killed during these attacks. ., ~ commander was killed during these attacks. ., ,, , ., commander was killed during these attacks. . ~' , ., , commander was killed during these attacks. ., ,, , ., , . attacks. 0k. thank you very much, parham ghobadi _ attacks. 0k. thank you very much, parham ghobadi in _

attacks. ok. thank you very much, parham ghobadi in our— attacks. 0k. thank you very much, parham ghobadi in our newsroom i attacks. 0k. thank you very much, . parham ghobadi in our newsroom with the latest on that. the un peacekeeping force in lebanon says it is deeply concerned about a potential escalation of violence, following the killing in beirut of a top hamas leader. a spokesperson for unifil, kandice ardiel, said a wider conflict would have devastating consequences for both israel and lebanon, and urged all parties to show restraint. israel said its forces were in a very high state of readiness for any retaliation following the killing of saleh al—arouri. it's not admitted or denied the attack, but hamas has accused it of being responsible. a spokesman for the group promised retaliation, and said hamas could not negotiate with israel while they committed what he called "crimes". hezbollah, an iranian—backed politically influential islamist group which controls the most powerful armed force in lebanon, has been exchanging fire with israel along the israel—lebanon border since the war in gaza began in october. hassan nasrallah, the leader of the group, is due to give a news conference in the next hour — he has

previously said there would be a severe reaction to any israeli killing on lebanese soil. for the latest on all those developments, we can go live now to carine torbey in beirut. what is the latest where you are? $5 carine torbey in beirut. what is the latest where you are?— latest where you are? as you said, there is a lot _ latest where you are? as you said, there is a lot of _ latest where you are? as you said, there is a lot of anticipation - latest where you are? as you said, there is a lot of anticipation ahead | there is a lot of anticipation ahead of a highly awaited speech in about an hour from of a highly awaited speech in about an hourfrom now, from hassan nasrallah. he is supposed to speak today and he is supposed to speak as well in a couple of days on friday. two speeches in one week that has seen, according to lebanese sources, a change of the rules of engagement between israel and hezbollah after what happened yesterday, the attack in the heart of the southern suburb of beirut, in the capital, in an area where hezbollah holds a very large sway. so basically the

question on everyone's mind today is, is hezbollah going to retaliate? and we had a glimpse of an answer yesterday in a statement released by hezbollah that said that what happened yesterday, the killing of saleh al—arouri and six other people, will not go unpunished, according to that statement issued by hezbollah. the question is, how is hassan nasrallah going to respond? everyone is waiting to hear whether the man himself, the leader of hezbollah, might give more details in about an hour. find of hezbollah, might give more details in about an hour. and of course, details in about an hour. and of course. this _ details in about an hour. and of course, this comes _ details in about an hour. and of course, this comes as - details in about an hour. and of course, this comes as the - details in about an hour. and of course, this comes as the un i course, this comes as the un peacekeeping force where you are in lebanon is concerned about a potential escalation in violence? absolutely. they said this could be very dangerous for people, over the two sides of the blue line, which is the demarcation line between the two countries, lebanon and israel.

basically, there are fears in lebanon that this could really lead to a much, much bigger escalation of the border, as you said. basically, there are daily changes of fire between hezbollah and israel for more than two months now, but it has been contained to the south in lebanon, to the north and israel. the question is, what happened yesterday as likely is it going to launch a new phase in the confrontation, the current confrontation? this is the question, this is the worry. the prime minister of lebanon, what he said israel has done has been a blow to all the efforts put in place to kind of keep lebanon at bay from the war and he accused israel of provoking or dragging lebanon into the wall. carine torbey, for the moment, thank

you very much, we'll bring you the latest from beirut. staying in the region... the head of the international chamber of shipping has told the bbc that consumers were likely to see a rise in the price of goods within weeks because of the cost of re—routing vessels away from the red sea, due to ongoing tensions in the middle east. tensions in the middle east. guy platten said about 20% of the container fleet was being diverted around southern africa to avoid the risk of attack by houthi rebels in yemen. he said the longerjourney added up to ia extra days to a ship's voyage and that shipping costs had already increased as a result. with me is our security correspondent, frank gardner. he is here to discuss all those developments. there is lots to go through, so let's go through them one by one. frank, first, at least 100 dead in those bomb blasts in iran. what more is your take on what has happened? the iran. what more is your take on what has happened?— has happened? the biggest question here is who did _ has happened? the biggest question here is who did it _ has happened? the biggest question here is who did it and _ has happened? the biggest question here is who did it and why? - has happened? the biggest question here is who did it and why? the - here is who did it and why? the first thing that is going to come up

in a lot of people's mines is israel because israel has been accused, with some justification, because israel has been accused, with somejustification, in because israel has been accused, with some justification, in the past of the targeted assassination of iranian nuclear scientists, people who were working on what israel suspects to be a nuclear weapon. which iran has always denied. so far there is no claim or counterclaim or plane being assigned on this one. you have got to look at both the tactics and the timing of this. it is in israel's style and it is certainly not in israel's interests to do this right now. it has got its hands full in gaza, in the west bank and is a race for retaliation after the targeted assassination of saleh al—arouri in beirut, which even though israel hasn't taking responsibility for that, it is widely assumed that it was then. but this would make no sense for israel to have done this and an awful lot of bystanders, civilians, this was not a military target, so there are a number of people who are opposed to the regime in tehran, there are

regional, like the blue cheese separatists, for example, but so far we don't know who has done it and it is unlikely to have been israel. —— like the baluchi separatists, for example. like the baluchi separatists, for exam - le. like the baluchi separatists, for examle. , ._ like the baluchi separatists, for examle. , ., example. 0k, staying with that, we've been _ example. 0k, staying with that, we've been talking _ example. 0k, staying with that, we've been talking about - example. 0k, staying with that, we've been talking about is - we've been talking about is happening on the memorial of the killing of qasem soleimani. for our audience, explained that as well. sure, qasem soleimani was a huge figure in iran, he ran the force thatis figure in iran, he ran the force that is the external military operations, covid black operations wing of the iranian mill revolutionary guard, so he was in charge of intelligence, funding, training, all of iran's proxy operations in the region, so hezbollah, all the groups in syria, iraq, quite possibly in lebanon as well and on president trump's orders he was assassinated when he visited baghdad. they hit him with a drone strike as he visited baghdad airport because it was also as far as the

americans were concerned, he was involved in the targeting of american groups in their art, and this was a huge blow to iran, he has been martyred, in their words, and his shrine is a big pull for iranian tourists down and kerman in the cell. ~ ., ., ., tourists down and kerman in the cell. ~ ., ., or , cell. we will move onto yesterday's events and — cell. we will move onto yesterday's events and the _ cell. we will move onto yesterday's events and the fallout _ cell. we will move onto yesterday's events and the fallout from - cell. we will move onto yesterday's events and the fallout from that. i events and the fallout from that. were talking to carine torbey fair in beirut about the situation in lebanon. a top hamas leader killed, as you say, no responsibility claimed by israel, but it is widely thought, is that the correct terminology? that they were behind it? what more do we know about that and what do you fear the implications are now? right, saleh al-arouri, whose _ implications are now? right, saleh al-arouri, whose nickname - implications are now? right, saleh al-arouri, whose nickname in - implications are now? right, saleh. al-arouri, whose nickname in arabic al—arouri, whose nickname in arabic was muhammad, he was number two in hamas after... , but there are military pictures of him at his desk in full combat fatigues with an

assault rifle in front of him, smiling on the phone. he was somebody who was believed by the israelis to be possibly the only senior hamas political leader outside gaza strip who had advanced knowledge of the october seven attacks. this is significant for israel because david, the head of mossad, israel's intelligence agency, while not saying, yes, we did it, has reminded people that rather like after the munich olympics attack back in 1972 when the 11 israeli athletes were murdered and one by one mossad went after all the perpetrators. it took seven years, they hunted them down in european capitals. they have said they are going to do the same thing to the people are carried out the october seven massacre in southern israel and so, it would fit with that that he would have been high on their hit list. there is no confirmation, but it is quite likely they would have wanted this guy dead. now, it may well be

counter—productive because he was an instrumental part of the negotiations to get the hostages released, to try to lower the temperature of the gaza war and eventually find a way to end it, but as far as israel is concerned, he is as far as israel is concerned, he is a top terrorists with blood on his hands and they would have been very likely to have considered him to be a legitimate target. the likely to have considered him to be a legitimate target.— a legitimate target. the question a lot of our viewers _ a legitimate target. the question a lot of our viewers will _ a legitimate target. the question a lot of our viewers will now - a legitimate target. the question a lot of our viewers will now want. a legitimate target. the question a lot of our viewers will now want to | lot of our viewers will now want to know is, what is your assessment of what the potential fallout could be, following that killing? the what the potential fallout could be, following that killing?— following that killing? the big ruestion, following that killing? the big question. as _ following that killing? the big question, as i _ following that killing? the big question, as i think— following that killing? the big question, as i think carine - following that killing? the big - question, as i think carine torbey referred to there, is what is hezbollah going to do? hezbollah is the most powerful military force in the most powerful military force in the lebanon, which is much more powerful than the lebanese army, which is pretty weak, they have around 100 50,000 missiles, drones and rockets all aimed at israel and thatis and rockets all aimed at israel and that is enough, should they choose to declare and go into a full—scale war, to at least temporarily overwhelm israel's air defences. they could deluge tel aviv and other

cities with rockets and there would be a lot of deaths. israel would retaliate to that and quite possibly so would the us navy, who are stationed just off shore in the eastern mediterranean, there would be a devastating response on south too, so it is properly not in the lebanese interests to do that and i think hezbollah up until now has quite carefully calibrated its response to the attacks by israel on gaza. there are limited attacks across the border. of course, it doesn't feel like limited if you are an israeli citizen, one in the 80,000 who has been evacuated from northern israel, they cannot live there in northern israel because they are being rocketed every day. but in military terms, these are relatively limited attacks. it is not a full—scale war. and whatever hezbollah does, it will be in full consultation with iran, with the supreme leadership and the supreme to security council back. find supreme leadership and the supreme to security council back.— to security council back. and we are su osed to security council back. and we are sunposed to — to security council back. and we are sunposed to be _ to security council back. and we are supposed to be hearing _ to security council back. and we are supposed to be hearing from - to security council back. and we are | supposed to be hearing from hassan nasrallah the next hour or so... ahead the head of hezbollah. brute ahead the head of hezbollah. we listening to that for our viewers.

another question, where our talks at the moment? you mentioned hostages, we talk about calls from all quarters now for a temporary ceasefire of some sort. i was reading that now, given the events of yesterday, egypt may be less likely to engage in those talks. what more do we know about that? whenever you have a dramatic, violent events such as the assassination of saleh al—arouri, 10% tensions inevitably go sky high and the immediate reaction of everybody on any side is, that is it, talks are off, which is what has happened. there were supposed to be an israeli delegation going to cairo to sit down, so, the egyptian intelligence have been very closely involved, they have a vested interest in keeping that border and that area calm because they have got their own board with them, they do not want to see the whole gaza war spilling over. they have already got problems with isis in the northern sinai, the last thing they want is

to see that spill—over. so they have been trying to engineer these talks to try to settle this, get some of the hostages out, get a ceasefire in place, leading to an eventual deal that stops the gaza— hamas — israel war. that is now on pause. it will almost certainly be resumed at some stage because it is an everybody�*s interest to stop this. stage because it is an everybody's interest to stop this.— interest to stop this. indeed, and it is notjust _ interest to stop this. indeed, and it is notjust about _ interest to stop this. indeed, and it is notjust about getting - interest to stop this. indeed, and it is notjust about getting as - it is notjust about getting as hostages released, but also getting more aid into gaza, isn't it? you have just more aid into gaza, isn't it? you havejust come back more aid into gaza, isn't it? you have just come back from the region yourself? have just come back from the region ourself? , , have just come back from the region ourself? . . . , �* yourself? yes, but it wasn't in gaza, yourself? yes, but it wasn't in gaza. which — yourself? yes, but it wasn't in gaza, which is _ yourself? yes, but it wasn't in gaza, which is pretty - yourself? yes, but it wasn't in gaza, which is pretty difficultl yourself? yes, but it wasn't in i gaza, which is pretty difficult for anyjournalist, but i was in jerusalem. yes, this is the tragedy of all of this, it's the people who suffer are the ordinary civilians. you know, the peaceful citizens of israel who were slaughtered in southern israel on october seven, the thousands of palestinians, men, women, children who are nothing to do with hamas who have paid with their lives for this war. and those who survive are in dire conditions.

un and otheraid who survive are in dire conditions. un and other aid agencies are daily calling out for more aid to get in and for a ceasefire because it is one thing to get the aid in, that is only half the problem. if you have and drone strikes happening every single day on parts, in some cases, of gaza which they have been told are safe and are clearly not because there will be explosions in buildings, you are getting more getting more and more casualties at the hospitals, especially, are in a really dire state.— really dire state. frank gardner, thank you _ really dire state. frank gardner, thank you for— really dire state. frank gardner, thank you for taking _ really dire state. frank gardner, thank you for taking us - really dire state. frank gardner, thank you for taking us through | really dire state. frank gardner, l thank you for taking us through all of those conjugated issues and hopefully, we will have you on again soon. our security correspondent there, frank gardner. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news here. the government says pupils at english schools that have been partially closed because of dangerous concrete will not get extra help in their exams. since september, some students have not been able to access design and technology work rooms, laboratories and other specialist

spaces, because of crumbling concrete, known as raac. school leaders have called for special consideration. a law that makes paying for sexual services a crime in northern ireland has led tojust one conviction since 2015. there have been calls for a review of the legislation, which was brought in to tackle human trafficking. the charity women's aid said injuly there was a significant increase in the number of trafficking victims they're supporting. new research suggests that supermarkets experienced their busiest christmas period since 2019. the research firm kantar said customers made a00 and 88 million customers made a88 million trips to the supermarket in the four weeks to christmas eve, with nearly £1a billion passing through the tills. you're live with bbc news. the japanese government is stepping up the emergency response to monday's earthquake, which is now known to have killed at least 6a people. we've been seeing just how extensive

the damage actually is. take a look at these pictures. this is the coastal town of suzu. the sheer force of the quake here flattened homes and dumped boats in the streets. rescue teams have been searching collapsed houses. japanese prime minister, fumio kishida, says the number of military personnel involved would be doubled to 2,000. the region continues to be rocked by aftershocks, and they're complicating rescue efforts. our correspondentjean mckenzie is in the region and travelled close to the epicentre. we finally arrived in the town of wajima three days after the earthquake. and this is close to the epicentre, and it is by far the most destruction we've seen. a fire broke out here during the earthquake, and it spread to the houses and the stalls. this used to be an old market place, and the people in the town have told us that the flames could be seen from all around. you can see that much of the area is still smoking.

walking around the side streets, and so many of the old wooden homes have completely collapsed. but most people have now left this town. they took those very early warnings to flee for higher ground because of the tsunami that was forecast. and they haven't been able to return, either because their homes have been destroyed or they are structurally unsafe. but people are returning here to search for their relatives who they think might still be trapped under the rubble. because three days on, they still don't know. it has taken some of the search and rescue teams nearly as long as us to reach here. these search dogs only arrived here this morning. there has been a huge delay in searching for survivors, and the teams are now going one by one to each of these collapsed wooden houses to search for them. but they don't know if anyone is inside here. their searches aren't based on any information, they've told us. and so this is an incredibly slow

process and this is a critical time. staying in japan, some staying injapan, some breaking news just coming into us, for people are believed to have been stabbed at a train, on a train i should say, stopping at the station in the capital of tokyo. they have been taken to hospital. this is from the public broadcaster, nhk. it was one of tokyo's most used train routes and it has now been suspended, due to aunt, i quote, trouble on the train. the incident happened at around 1:56pm uk time on the announcement was made on twitter by the easterjapan railway company, so for people believed to have been stabbed. it is unclear what their condition is at the moment, but they have been taken to hospital. here in the uk... junior doctors working in england's

public health services have begun a six—day strike. it's the longest industrial action in the history of britain's health service, and follows a break down in talks with the government over pay. before the strike, nhs england medical director professor sir stephen powis said the health service was facing one of its most difficult starts to a year since 19a8. our reporter, meghan owen, has more on why this latest strike is so significant. this isn't the first time thatjunior doctors in england have walked out. in fact, they first went on strike in march 2023, and since then the nhs has had to cancel over 1.2 million appointments. but let's just take a look at what a junior doctor actually is. now, they are qualified doctors who are going through clinical training, which can take around eight years or more. they make up around 50% of nhs staff. so, actually, over the next six days of industrial action, the nhs could be losing half of its workforce — and that's at a time where the nhs is already facing pressure from the winter season.

now, here's nhs england's medical director. we just had a really busy christmas and new year period. our nhs staff have coped magnificently with the pressures over that period, but we're now facing six days of industrial action byjunior doctors — that's the longest period of industrial action in nhs history — and of course it's at a time when the nhs is always very busy with winter pressures, viruses such as covid and flu. so there's no doubt it's going to be challenging. but first of all, let's just take a look at how much junior doctors are paid. well, for the basic foundation pay and first year, it's just over £32,000 — and that's without extras such as night pay. this can climb to over £63,000 for specialty registrars, which is after a few years of training. now, the government have offered a 3% average pay rise from january, and this is on top of an existing 9% average pay rise, which was already received back in april.

but the british medical association is saying that this isn't enough, and that's because junior doctors are asking for a 35% pay rise — and that's because they've received below—inflation pay rises since 2008. now, in terms of the government response, they say, "we urge the bma junior doctors committee to call "off their strikes and come back to the negotiating table so we can "find a fair and reasonable solution "and so we can all get back to focusing on patients "and their care." meghan owen bear. live now to stuart hoddinott, senior researcher at the institute for government — a london—based think tank which has been looking at nhs pay and funding. thanks forjoining us. we heard in that report there from meghan owen that report there from meghan owen thatjunior doctors say that that report there from meghan owen that junior doctors say that their pay has been eroded by 35% since 2008. did your analysis back this up? it

2008. did your analysis back this u . ? , ., , 2008. did your analysis back this u - ? . . , , 2008. did your analysis back this u . ? , ., , , ., up? it is a little bit dependent on which measure _ up? it is a little bit dependent on which measure of _ up? it is a little bit dependent on which measure of inflation - up? it is a little bit dependent on which measure of inflation used i up? it is a little bit dependent on l which measure of inflation used to calculate the erosion of pay. that number comes from the bma, the union of that represents doctors, and for that they use a measure of inflation called rpi. if you use a measure of inflation called the cpi, which is the more commonly used one, that is slightly lower, we estimate it is about 16% pay cut, compared to their cut of about 26%, although their estimate of about 26%, so it is a bit dependent on which metric you use and there are benefits and cons to using different metrics, but overall it has been a large pay decline since the beginning of the last decade, in real terms. baht! last decade, in realterms. and also, in terms _ last decade, in realterms. and also, in terms of _ last decade, in real terms. and also, in terms of concerns from junior doctors, it is also a wider condition is that they say, in terms of diminished level of funding over the years, which has led to an impact on health care services, again, what is your research saying about that? i5.1"er

again, what is your research saying about that?— again, what is your research saying aboutthat? . , ., , . about that? our research shows that the are about that? our research shows that they are correct _ about that? our research shows that they are correct about _ about that? our research shows that they are correct about that. - about that? our research shows that they are correct about that. the - they are correct about that. the state of nhs hospitals is far worse thanit state of nhs hospitals is far worse than it was a decade and a half ago, there is now difficulty actually carrying out procedures because of things like sewage leaks in hospital, there is insufficient to equipment, often, to do the level of testing that needs to be done, there are far fewer beds than another similar health care systems and it systems are rarely up to scratch. all that makes it much, much harder for them to do theirjobs effectively. and on top of that, there is also dissatisfaction and other staff groups in the nhs as well, which leads to high levels of turnover, which can also therefore make it harder for them turnover, which can also therefore make it harderfor them to do turnover, which can also therefore make it harder for them to do their jobs. 50 make it harder for them to do their 'obs_ , ., ., make it harder for them to do their “obs. y., . ._ ., jobs. so you are saying the nhs hasn't been _ jobs. so you are saying the nhs hasn't been properly _ jobs. so you are saying the nhs hasn't been properly funded? i l jobs. so you are saying the nhs - hasn't been properly funded? i think fundin: is a hasn't been properly funded? i think funding is a political— hasn't been properly funded? i think funding is a political choice - hasn't been properly funded? i think funding is a political choice that - funding is a political choice that any government should make themselves. i think it is fair to say that the funding in the last 13 orso say that the funding in the last 13 or so years, except for covid, has been below trend levels of increases that the nhs has seen in the decades

before that. it has also been particularly bad for capital spending, which is the bit of spending, which is the bit of spending that influences things like building equipment, it systems that we talked about. by historical standards, that has been particularly low, so i think that it is up to the government to decide how much they want to spend on the health service, but it is definitely possible to say that the recent decades have been less funding than the nhs might have been used to. fik. the nhs might have been used to. 0k. stuart hoddinott, senior researcher at the london based think tank the institute for government. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts based on the research that you have done. that is it for this half hour. i will be back after a short break. of i will be back after a short break. of course, there is with plenty more on the bbc news website. do stay with us here on bbc news.

good afternoon. today has brought somewhat brighter weather for many of us, but in the wake of storm henk, there's still a lot of water out there. the ground is saturated, numerous flood warnings in force, and there is some more rain to come. through the rest of the day, that rain mostly in the form of some quite hefty showers, it stays windy across southern counties of england and the channel islands, large amounts of cloud across scotland in particular with some showery rain, windy up towards the northern isles, and cold across shetland, ending the day with temperatures barely above freezing here, and generally speaking, temperatures around 6—9 degrees as we head into the early part of the evening. overnight, we keep fairly large amounts of cloud, still some showers here and there, clearer skies, though, a slice of clear sky spreading from the south—west. temperatures dropping to around 3, a or 5 degrees, some places just a little colder than that. into tomorrow, low pressure to the north of the uk, still generating some showery rain.

this frontal system bringing some rain into the south, in between this slice of sunshine, tending to drift a little bit further northwards through the day. the far north of england, parts of northern ireland and scotland staying cloudy, showery, windy in the far north, and then this rain starts to edge into southern counties of england. we will have to keep an eye on this, there's still a bit of uncertainty about this weather system, it may edge just a little bit further northwards, it will bring heavy rain in places where we really do not need it, moving into south—east england and east anglia through the evening, and on the southern flank it may be that we see another swathe of quite strong winds, but by friday that weather system is clearing out into continental europe. friday is a bit of a transition day, there will still be some showers around, but things will be slowly drying out and calming down. a lot of cloud, some sunshine, temperatures down on where they have been, and that drying out process continues into the weekend, with low pressure relinquishing its grip, and high pressure building more strongly across the uk.

there will be some showers around, some of those could even be wintry, because the air will be turning colder. with that colder air and high pressure, lighter winds, we will see some mist and fog patches by night, a touch of frost for some, as well, generally the days colder than they have been, but a lot of dry weather around with some spells of sunshine.