Britain will be hotter than Portugal as the country gets set to bask in a mini-heatwave this weekend with temperatures soaring as high as 82.4F (28C).
A spell of high pressure means most areas will meet the Met Office’s definition of a heatwave – defined as three days above a particular temperature threshold.
And the sun is set to stick around for the rest of the month, with only north-western parts due a little wind and rain towards the end of next week.
The mercury soared above 70F (21C) for the 13th day in a row yesterday, continuing a remarkable turnaround that follows a miserable few months including the UK’s fourth wettest May on record and the coldest April since 1922.
It follows British tourists scrambling to leave the Algarve in Portugal last night to beat the ‘amber list’ deadline, while Boris Johnson faces mounting pressure from some scientists to delay the lockdown easing on June 21 amid the rapid spread of the Indian ‘Delta’ variant.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has pledged that freedoms would be restored ‘soon’, but stressed it was ‘too early’ to assess if the end of lockdown – also known as ‘Freedom Day’ – will go ahead as planned in 12 days’ time.
Dancers Estela Romero, 18, and Anastasia Krokidi, 19, from Blackpool, enjoy the sunshine at a beach in the seaside town of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, this morning
Members of the public enjoy the sunshine in the botanical gardens in Sheffield this afternoon. A spell of high pressure means most areas will meet the Met Office’s definition of a heatwave
Britons relax in the hot weather at Ruislip Lido in Ruislip, north west London, on what is expected to be one of the hottest days of the year so far
The Met Office’s weather forecast for Britain this weekend, pictured above. The mercury soared above 70F (21C) for the 13th day in a row yesterday, continuing a remarkable turnaround
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: ‘There’s a definition of what a heatwave is – it is at least three consecutive days of maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding a temperature threshold.
‘It is above 82.4F (28C) for London and a large chunk of the south east, it is 80.6F (27C) for the Midlands and going towards the south west its 78.8F (26C).
‘In Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Devon and Cornwall and the north east its 77F (25C) – so it is a sliding scale depending on where you are, but we haven’t yet met that maximum threshold.’
But the weekend is set to be a scorcher with the mercury potentially tipping 86F (30C) in parts of the South East by the beginning of next week.
Mr Claydon said: ‘But by the beginning of the weekend and going into next week we might start to meet that criteria, by Sunday we might see 82.4F (28C) or 84.2F (29C).
‘It looks set to continue into next week, that is outside of our detailed forecast but the indication is that settled warm weather is set to continue.’
Mr Claydon continued: ‘As well as the 82.4F/84.2F (28C/29C) expected in London and the south east, elsewhere in places like Nottingham will potentially be meeting the heat wave criteria with 80.6F (27C) forecast.
‘Various other places set to meet the heatwave threshold as well.’ He added: ‘There’s a chance we might get towards 86F (30C) at the beginning of next week.’
If you cannot get out and about this weekend, it looks like there will still be plenty of time to work on your tan, with at least a few more weeks of sunshine on the way, according to Met Office data.
‘The theme of high pressure is expected to continue throughout June, although we might see incursions of unsettled weather in the north-western parts of the UK including some wet and windy weather in Scotland,’ Mr Claydon said.
Estela and Anastasia from Blackpool enjoy the beach in Lancashire. Bookmaker Coral has made it odds-on at 1-2 for this month to finish as the hottest June on record in the UK
A sunbather pictured in Minster on Sea, Kent, this morning. The weekend is set to be a scorcher with the mercury potentially tipping 86F (30C) in parts of the South East by the beginning of next week
Sunseekers head to the seaside to enjoy the scorching temperatures in Bournemouth, Dorset, this morning
‘The broad theme is that the high pressure will bring more settled conditions across the UK.’
The weather might turn at the start of July, but there is nothing concrete on the cards, Mr Claydon said.
He added: ‘There are very early signs that the high pressure might start to break down at the end of the month but we are a long way from that yet.’
Bookmaker Coral has made it odds-on at 1-2 for this month to finish as the hottest June on record in the UK, despite thunderstorms and a drop in temperatures towards the start of this month.
The sunrise at Bamburgh beach in Northumberland early today. The weather might turn at the start of July, but there is nothing concrete on the cards, Oli Claydon said
Commuters cross London Bridge in the sunshine this morning as the glare bounces off the Shard building. Mr Claydon said: ‘It is above 82.4F (28C) for London and a large chunk of the south east’
High pressure will build in for the weekend and temperatures will increase further on Saturday and especially into Sunday
Coral’s John Hill said: ‘With a glorious summer to look forward to, not only does the betting point to record high temperatures, we could even have a hosepipe ban this year.’
But despite bookies offering odds on this being the hottest June ever, it is too early in the month to say whether we will see record-breaking average temperatures.
Mr Claydon explained that the average maximum daytime temperature for June is 63.1F (17.3C), but that the first eight days of June 2021 have sat a couple of degrees higher than that at 67.5F (19.7C).
The record average maximum June temperature was set in 1940 at 68.9F (20.5C).
‘Currently we are not even in the top five hottest Junes on record,’ Mr Claydon said.