There is around a “one per cent” chance that the UK will reach 40°C temperatures being seen across the rest of Europe, the Met Office has said.
Meteorologists have said it is unlikely that the UK’s temperature will climb up to 40°C after weeks of unsettled weather in the UK.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said there are no signs that the high temperatures are on their way but a long-range forecast showed some heat returning to our shores come August.
He said: “There is no forecast signal for temperatures to reach last year’s threshold this year.
“The chance of reaching 40°C is around one per cent, so it is unlikely in any given year, but of course, it remains feasible.”
It was previously thought that the UK would see temperatures rising, as southern Europe has seen temperatures of up to 45°C (113°F).
However, the Met Office’s Rachel Ayers said that the UK is more likely to experience temperatures close to average or slightly below for July.
The Italian Meteorological Service predicts that temperatures could reach up to 48°C in some areas, particularly in Sardinia and Sicily.
Popular cities like Rome, Milan, Naples, and Venice are anticipated to experience temperatures of around 37°C, while the northern plains near the Po valley may reach up to 38°C.
When will there be another heatwave in the UK?
According to the Met Office, it's unlikely to happen this year in the UK.
Rebekah Sherwin, an expert meteorologist from the Met Office’s global forecasting team, said “unusually high” sea surface temperatures are also occurring across the Cerberus-hit region, with many parts of the Mediterranean seeing surface temperatures as high as 28°C.
But does this mean there is any hope of a sweltering summer in the UK?
She explained: “This will exacerbate the effects of the heat over surrounding land areas, as even in coastal regions, overnight temperatures are unlikely to drop much below the mid-20s Celsius.”
Cerberus — named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante’s inferno — has taken hold across many popular British family holiday hotspots in the Mediterranean.
Ms Sherwin added: “The southern shift of the jet stream that has pushed the high pressure southwards across this region has also led to low-pressure systems being directed into the UK, bringing more unsettled and cooler weather here than we experienced in June, when the jet stream was at a more northerly latitude.”
So, unfortunately, things are not looking up.
Gusts of 55mph battered Britain last weekend, with a yellow Met Office in place.
The UK earlier witnessed its hottest June on record, the Met Office said, as a result of “the background warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human-induced climate change”.
From the beginning of July, unsettled conditions have taken over the UK, bringing rains, gusts, and thunderstorms, completely opposite to the weather being seen across Europe, and that weather is set to continue as summer holiday season with the children kicks in from the end of this week.
The Met Office said an Atlantic low-pressure system is bringing “unseasonably” strong winds, and heavy rain or showers to many places across the UK over the coming days, which will keep temperatures down.
