A blanket of low-lying cloud and patchy fog has swept areas of London in the past few days, as the UK has been in the grip of ‘anticyclonic gloom’.
Much of England, including the capital, has had no meaningful rainfall this past week, although Scotland last saw downpours over the weekend.
London could be facing days more of cloudy weather as it doesn’t appear clear skies are on the horizon, according to the Met Office.
The dull and cloudy phenomenon, known as 'anticyclonic gloom', occurs when high pressure, otherwise known as an anticyclone - traps areas of damp weather close to the ground. It brings a prolonged period of dull and cloudy weather, with mist and fog also possible, a Met Office forecaster wrote on a post to social media site X.
The high pressure blocks rain from rolling in during spring and autumn.
It is expected Londoners will also come into view of the hazy weather for the rest of the week as Thursday evening and Friday have been forecasted to see a good deal of “dry” conditions, with the odd exception of drizzle at times.
Cloudy conditions are to persist through to the weekend with similar “patchy drizzle” before the skies clear to leave a largely dry and bright Monday with average temperatures. However, it is predicted Londoners are to see a revert to cloudy weather again from Tuesday.
The forecast hasn’t yet shown full clear skies emerging beyond, despite most areas seeing “largely dry [weather] with a good chance of sunny” interludes next week. There is scope for overnight frost in clearer areas.
The influence of high pressure is likely to decline through the course of next week, with an increasing chance of showers or longer spells of rain, initially more likely in the east, forecasters said.
They added conditions are likely to be mixed - with some wetter, windy weather at times, but also some drier interludes bringing the chance of morning fog patches.
From November 22, it is expected London will be met with cold weather. However overall temperatures are more likely to be around or above average and not as cold as next week, as the Met Office warned there is “potential for some rather cold spells” from Tuesday.
