The wet weather is expected to follow several days of 30C+ temperatures
London’s heatwave will come to an end next week when rain falls for four consecutive days, forecasters say. Light showers and drizzle will hit the city alternatively from around 4pm on Friday, July 17, and stick around until at least Monday night (July 20).
BBC Weather shows the sun attempting to break through the wet conditions between patches of light cloud. However, while temperatures will remain warm throughout, it’s set to be a lot less dry and bright than recent weeks.
Thermometers are likely to hover at 26/27C over the four-day period, but will drop to 16C overnight. This will be a welcome reprieve as the capital prepares for another week of scorching weather.
Meteorologists are predicting six consecutive 30C+ days starting from yesterday afternoon (July 6). Temperatures will stay sky high until Tuesday, July 14, when they’ll drop to below 28C.
This marks the third heatwave of the year, the last of which saw a a record-breaking 36.4C. London has been particularly affected by extreme weather due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, which can make the city feel 10 degrees hotter than it is because of building density.
Conditions across the UK are expected to be less humid than June, with lower peak temperatures and fewer exceptionally warm nights, per the Met Office. Deputy Chief Forecaster Steven Keates said: “Temperatures this week are not expected to reach the highs we witnessed last month, though parts of southern England in particular are likely to see several days in the low 30s Celsius, and a few places could reach 34-35C later this week.
“Night-time temperatures again will not be as high as what we experienced in June, though some larger urban areas are likely to remain in the high teens Celsius overnight, especially later in the week, and there is a chance that a tropical night (where temperatures do not fall below 20C) may be recorded in a few places.
“Much of England and Wales will be hot, and the heat will extend to parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland too, though here peak temperatures are more likely to be in the upper 20s Celsius. With high UV and high temperatures, people should take the usual precautions with the heat and the sun.”
The Met Office previously raised the possibility of an ‘extreme’ Category 4 marine heatwave. Sea-surface temperatures are about 1.5-4C above normal in waters around much of the English and Welsh coastlines, the English Channel, and the central and southern North Sea.
These will have limited opportunity to cool amid this week’s heatwave, affecting wildlife and ecosystems.
You can find a map of free conditioned places to keep cool on MyLondon
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