Temperatures could reach mid-30s in parts of the UK this week, as forecasters said Britain needed to prepare for its “first hot summer day”.
The coming months will also bring hot flashes, which the Meteorological Service has warned are becoming more likely due to climate change and higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
“There haven’t been many hot days or hot days this year yet, but that will change,” said Stephen Keats of the Met Office.
“We expect to probably see a short period of hot weather at the end of next week.”
In the south-east of England, temperatures could reach 32C (89.6F) on Friday, but may even reach the mid-30s, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
This would make the region hotter than the Canary Islands, Portugal, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Cyprus.
It would also mean that at some point later in the week, the country will get the hottest day of the year so far. The previous warmest was 27.5C (81.5F), registered in Heathrow on May 17.
Keats added that we have to break the record “comfortable on Friday”, but we can get closer or exceed on Wednesday or Thursday.
He also warned that the country could face heat waves between June and mid-September.
Heat is defined by the Met Office as “at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures that reach or exceed the temperature threshold of the heat wave”. This threshold varies by county.
“We think it’s going to be warmer than average right now with an increasing likelihood of heat waves,” Keats said.
“So far this year there have been no heat waves… it is more likely that it will be so much further south, southeast, you.
In March, the meteorological service updated its heat wave thresholds due to the impact of the warming climate. Eight counties – from Surrey to East Yorkshire – have been changed to reflect an “indisputable warming trend for the United Kingdom”, the Meteorological Service said.
Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Center, said: “Although heat waves are extreme weather events, research shows that climate change makes these events more likely.
“A scientific study by the Meteorological Service for the heat wave in the summer of 2018 in the United Kingdom showed that it is 30 times more likely to happen now than in 1750, due to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
NHS hot weather tips suggest people stay out of the sun between 11:00 and 15:00, get hydrated, use sunscreen and wear loose clothing.
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