It’s time to dig out the sun umbrellas and stay hydrated as UK temperatures look set to soar for the rest of the week.
A plume of warm air is being dragged in from Europe, meaning parts of the country could be hotter than Istanbul this weekend.
Forecasters predict it will be London and the south of England that will be baking in the hottest of this week’s rising temperatures.
Is there officially going to be a heatwave this week?
Some Britons are set to bask in a heatwave this week.
The Met Office defines the weather event as when temperatures meet or exceed the threshold for a specific area for three consecutive days.
As shown in the map above, in London, this is 28°C, whereas in cities including Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester, the threshold is 27°C, 26°C and 25°C, respectively.
Tony Wisson, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘By the beginning of the weekend, we could very well be meeting heatwave thresholds in places.
‘While the warmest temperatures are likely across London and the east of England, by Saturday heatwave thresholds could be reached across much of the Midlands, low-lying areas bordering the Peak District and even parts of east Wales.’
How long will the hot weather last?
The burst of heat is expected to peak this weekend before easing early next week.
There is uncertainty in how quickly it will cool, with some models predicting temperatures in the mid-30s by Monday.
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It’s thought the south of England could cling onto the warmer weather for a bit longer and perhaps even stick around for Glastonbury’s kick-off on June 25.
Which areas of the UK will see the warmest weather?
Forecasters are expecting temperatures in London to soar to 29°C by Thursday, reaching 31°C by Friday and then peaking at 32°C by Saturday.
The hot weather is then expected to spread further north, with Manchester and Newcastle enjoying temperatures into the late 20s by the weekend.
Some parts of the country will surpass temperatures in holiday hotspots such as Lisbon, Portugal, and Barcelona, Spain – which are predicted to reach 29°C on Saturday.
The Met Office said several places were expected to exceed 30°C on Saturday, surpassing Nice, France and making them the UK’s highest temperatures of the year so far.
What is the hottest the UK has ever been?
The Met Office confirmed the UK’s record high temperature was 40.3°C. The mercury hits those heights in Lincolnshire in July 2022.
The extreme temperatures were recorded as the UK was sweltering in an unprecedented heatwave.
In that time, the previous UK record temperature of 38.7°C was provisionally met or exceeded in 46 places across the UK, while seven areas saw temperatures above 40°C.
Dr Mark McCarthy, from the National Climate Information Centre, told the Met Office in 2022 that without human-induced climate change, ‘it would be virtually impossible for temperatures in the UK to reach 40°C.’
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