UK heatwave: Met Office give grim update but 25C weekend weather is coming

MirrorAug 17, 2021Read original

A Met Office forecaster has dispelled rumours the UK could see a heatwave at the August and September, blaming low pressure systems for the lack of sunshine

The Met Office has said the UK will not be basking in a heatwave this month - and has explained why Europe is seeing higher temperatures.

Forecasters at the

say that despite warmer

in July, and rumours of higher temperatures later this month circulating, August will continue to be dull, while the continent will continue to see higher than average temperatures.

The only bright spot is warmer weather this weekend with hopes that the mercury could tip 25C in London - albeit still not hot enough to official be a heatwave.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: "For there to be a heatwave there has to be specific temperature met for three consecutive days.

"This temperature is different for different parts of the country. For London, it is 28C and it is 25C in Devon and 25C in Cumbria. If temperatures are above those for three consecutive days then it will be considered a heatwave."

The spokeswoman said the UK has, throughout the whole of August, been seeing average temperatures of 19C.

She added: "We have said we will see warm spells developing later on in the month but towards the end of August and middle of September it is expected there will be temperatures that have been average for this month."

The Met Office said that rainfall in August has again been average - although northern Ireland has seen 89 per cent rainfall where you would be expect it to be 50 per cent.

It also said the UK has seen less sunshine hours, meaning the days have been dull although temperatures have remained average.

The spokeswoman added: "We had some lovely weather in July and we had an extreme weather warning but we have had a fairly dull, damp and dreary August.

Looking to Europe, the spokeswoman explained why that has seen higher temperatures.

The continent has seen a record high of 48C, while the UK has been grey with average temperatures.

The spokeswoman said: "What we have is a high pressure system that allows temperatures to build day by day and it holds heat in, not allowing wind in, and that's what is happening further south over Europe, allowing a low pressure system to cross the Atlantic and the UK.

"Our weather comes from the west, from the Atlantic and crosses the country. It pushed the high pressure system from us and brings the type of weather we have been getting. In winter it brings storms and a lot of wind but in summer we get this damp and dreary weather we have been seeing."

Earlier this week, the Met Office warned that Europe could see temperatures of 50C.

Writing on the Met Office's blog, Professor Peter Stott, the lead on climate attribution who has studied European heatwaves for nearly two decades said: “Climate change is making heat-related extremes of weather more intense and when we think about those record-breaking temperature the chance of breaking temperature records – or coming close to breaking records – is greatly increased.

“Record-breaking temperatures in June 2019 saw the French temperature record exceed 45.0°C for the first time, and our analysis found that event was at least five times more likely because of climate change. Although we haven’t yet been able to run an in-depth study on the current situation, I think it’s going to be clear that climate change has made this current event more extreme.

“The chances each summer of seeing really extreme temperatures are pretty high now. We can’t say exactly when it is likely to happen, but Europe will need to prepare for the eventuality of further records being broken with temperatures above 50.0°C being possible in Europe in future, most likely close to the Mediterranean where the influence of hot air from North Africa is strongest.”