The Met Office confirmed today that a widespread heatwave is ‘likely’ in England from this Sunday – amid expectations that temperatures will hit at least 29C (84F) in the South East every day for at least a week.
Forecasters said the heat would continue to build later this week with 25C (77F) today and tomorrow, followed by 27C (81F) on Friday and Saturday – before an official heatwave begins at the end of this weekend.
Meteorologists at BBC Weather expect daily maximums of at least 29C (84F) every day in London until at least July 18 – meaning the capital and other areas can now look forward to a prolonged period of very hot weather.
Much of the UK has seen a drab start to July, with temperatures a degree and a half below average for the month – but a period of sustained high pressure will now follow, bringing warm sunny days and dry spells.
And Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: ‘Certainly through this weekend we could see temperatures up into the high-20Cs (low-80Fs), particularly in parts of the South and East of the UK.
A woman relaxes with a hot drink at Greenwich Park in South East London today as people enjoy the warm weather
A gardener waters plants at Greenwich Park in South East London today as people enjoy the warm weather
Two dog walkers enjoy the fine weather today as they walk their pet in the sea on the Sandbanks peninsular in Dorset
A man on the River Thames at Wallingford in Oxfordshire this afternoon as temperatures begin to build across England
‘And that high pressure that’s driving the more settled conditions and high temperatures (will be) staying dominant through next week as well, with temperatures expected to continue to rise through next week.’
A UK heatwave threshold is officially met when a location records a period of at least three days in a row with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding a certain threshold – a figure which varies by UK county.
The Met Office confirmed today that a heatwave was ‘possible in a few locations’ of the coastal South West as early as tomorrow, before becoming ‘likely widespread from Sunday’ across England and parts of South Wales.
Mr Claydon, who confirmed that ‘settled conditions’ would be in place, added: ‘Temperatures certainly over the next couple of days are getting close to average for the time of year in terms of maximums that we’d expect.’
Parts of the UK have already seen high temperatures in 2022, with the hottest temperature of 2022 so far recorded at 32.7C (90.9F) in Santon Downham, Norfolk, on June 17 – a figure that will likely be broken next week.
But Mr Claydon said the picture is gloomier in the North and West of the UK, with low pressure still influencing those areas – and rain possible at times through much of western Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Overcast skies cover Plymouth seafront in Devon today where paddleboarders take to the water
People pictured out along the riverside on a humid and overcast afternoon today in Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Paddleboarders take to the water at Plymouth seafront in Devon today
He said the South and East would fare better over the next few days ‘in terms of brightness, but also temperatures, and as with the UK climate, those higher temperatures are expected in parts of the south and east of the UK’.
Mr Claydon told MailOnline: ‘Speaking generally, high pressure is sat in the South West of the UK, bringing settled conditions.
‘Over the next few days, the high pressure will become more dominated meaning the settled conditions will move into the rest of the UK. This will help build temperatures through the end of the week and the weekend as well.
‘If we start on Thursday, we can see 26C (79F) as a high, 27C (81F) as a high on Friday, and temperatures largely will be a degree or so cooler on Saturday.
‘But we could still see a 27C (81F) confined to the very far south coast on Saturday. On Sunday, there looks to be a high of 28C (82.4F). It’s not until Monday which we could see a high of 30C (86F) in the South East.
People take their dogs out for walks and go for bike rides at Wallingford in Oxfordshire this afternoon
Overcast skies cover Plymouth seafront in Devon today where paddleboarders take to the water
Canal boats out at Wallingford in Oxfordshire this afternoon as people enjoy the settled but humid temperatures
‘Tuesday is the expected peak of the temperatures, again likely to be midlands and the south. It could be 32C (90F) in some places, and largely low 30Cs (high 80Fs) for the rest of the UK.’
However, he added: ‘Past Tuesday, there’s quite a lot of uncertainty, which is down to the possibility of different scenarios. A cold front could take temperatures right down to the low 20Cs (low 70Fs), introducing cooler air.
‘Or we could see temperatures sticking out – but there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the forecast at the moment. Monday and Tuesday is pretty consistent with that high pressure and fine, dry weather building.’
This 32C (90F) heat early next week will be the same temperature felt in Malaga, Rome and Puerto Rico.
And it will be even hotter than holiday hotspots Santorini, Ibiza, Split and Monaco, which will see temperatures respectively of 26C (79F), 29C (84F), 30C (86F) and 27C (81F).