UK weather 'pattern change' means 'very high risk' of 35C July heatwave

13 June 2024 , 08:17

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A weather 'pattern change' is on the cards for July (stock) (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Temperatures in the UK could rise above 35C in just a few weeks' time as a "mega heatwave" is on the cards, according to a leading weather forecaster.

Despite a disappointing June, Exacta Weather forecaster James Madden has said "current signals are still good" for "a major build of high pressure during next week", meaning June could end on a high with "warm to hot temperatures over a number of days". We previously reported 26C is possible for some before the month's end.

However, it's next month when Madden expects things to really warm up. The forecaster said a "pattern change" is coming in an update on Facebook yesterday (Wednesday, June 12).

Madden expects conditions to be "pretty amazing" across the entirety of July and, at its peak, this hot spell could constitute a "super or mega heatwave". He wrote: "The good news going forward and into July is that things are looking pretty amazing for this month as a whole, with the now very high possibility of some kind of super or mega heatwave of a decent duration."

As for how high the mercury might go, Madden said we can expect "maximum temperatures possibly peaking in and around the mid to high 30Cs".

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Other weather forecasters say temperatures could be on the rise next month too, although only Exacta has called a heatwave so far. The Met Office's forecast June 27 to July 11 states: "Temperatures are most likely to be close to or slightly above climatological average."

Temperatures could rise above 35C (stock) (PA)

Netweather's forecast for July 1 to July 9 states: "Temperatures are likely to be above normal overall, though with uncertainty over the extent of the anomaly." BBC Weather says: "With areas of high pressure likely to remain close to the UK, there is a greater chance of warmer, calmer and drier weather in the first week of July."

According to the Met Office, conditions constitute an official heatwave "when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding a heatwave temperature threshold". The threshold varies by UK county from 25C to 28C.

Ethan Blackshaw