The heat is on, but it’s cool compared to Spain’s 118.4F
It is a well-established British value that, when we are suffering, we think of someone worse off. So if you are feeling overwrought in the heatwave in the southern and eastern parts of England, spare a thought for those in New South Wales in Australia, where the worst drought in living memory is playing havoc with farmers’ winter plans.
Or in southern Spain and Portugal, where temperatures this weekend are set to reach acetylene torch levels at 118.4F (48C), the highest ever recorded in Europe.
By contrast our wilting hydrangeas and potato patches too hard for a spade to crack open are modest inconveniences. In those hot southern and eastern areas, today will be much the same as yesterday, and as far back as we can remember.
So clear skies, sunshine, hardly a drop of rain and up to 88F (31C) anywhere from Hull to Norwich to London to Brighton. The further north and west you head, the cooler it gets, still largely sunny mind, but more like 70F (21C). If you reach northern Scotland or parts of Northern Ireland, you are going to struggle to manage 66F (19C).
The issue there is the proximity of the North Atlantic lows, huffing and puffing to come ashore with their wet weather fronts, but thus far this summer unable to blow down the door of high pressure that has kept most parts of England and Wales secure under the sun. The latest bevy of Atlantic lows, however, may just do a bit better than their predecessors and gain a little more traction in shifting the prevailing airflows over the UK.
While London, the south east and East Anglia should keep the hot, humid air streaming up from Africa via Spain and France on Monday and Tuesday, fresher conditions will arrive from the north and west in most other parts of England. Is the heatwave over? Don’t bank on it. It has eased and then regenerated before, and there is every chance it will again.