Next month to be hotter than July!
AUGUST could be even hotter than record-breaking July, forecasters say.
Although the UK is unlikely to see a repeat of last week’s 104F heat (40C), the mid-90s (30s) are expected, meaning that average temperatures for August will be even higher than this monthº.
It comes as analysis shows the July heatwave cost Britain billions in lost work and shoppers’ spending as millions stayed home, with knock-on costs from travel and schools chaos.
After an 86F (30C) mini-heatwave today, the Met Office forecasts above-average temperatures over much of the first three weeks of August.
Despite record highs, this July’s average temperature is actually only 2C warmer than normal, after a cooler-than-usual start to the month, Met Office data for central England shows.
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “34C is likely in August, with heat expected from Europe again, which would further increase the chance of August being warmer than July.”
He added: “Temperatures ahead will be nice for the beach, barbecue or beer garden, certainly compared to last week, which was simply too hot.”
A Met Office forecaster said: “In early August, temperatures are likely to be above average across southern areas, which could lead to, at times, hot or very hot weather.”
They added: “Mainland Europe is hot and sometimes this hot air can be drawn up across southern parts of the UK. Our meteorologists are monitoring this potential.”
The country is still reeling from last week’s blistering heat.
Yesterday, a body was discovered at Jaywick, Essex, two miles from where a 21-year-old swimmer went missing on Tuesday.at least 13 others died while swimming during the heatwave.
The British economy was also badly hit, with productivity
plummeting. The slump is thought to have cost up to 20 per cent of working hours on Monday and Tuesday, costing £1billion per day based on daily economy productivity of £5billion from an eight-hour shift.
Kate Palmer, consultancy director at HR firm Peninsula, said: “High temperatures cause a slump in productivity.”
The Grantham Research Institute, based at the London
School of Economics, said: “Productivity drops when temperatures go above 30C. Heatwaves hit some industries hard.”
School closures and early finishes also meant that some parents were forced to stop work at short notice.
Firms were also left with fewer staff as annual leave during the heatwave soared by 60 per cent, with hundreds of thousands more workers on days off, HR experts said.
Alan Price, CEO of Bright HR, said: “Annual leave requests piled up due to the hot weather.”
Sick days also rocketed, costing around £400million over two days, absence trends showed.
Staff being off ill costs an average of £139million per working day for employers to cover absent staff roles, with numbers booming in hot weather, according to another study by accountants PWC.
The Federation of Small Businesses said: “Employees’ days off in hot weather do happen and can be a big problem.”
Britain’s average £1billion-aday spending in shops was said to have plummeted by a quarter as some stores shut, supermarket fridges broke and millions of people stayed at home to avoid going out in the heat, costing £250million per day on Monday and Tuesday.
Diane Wehrle, insights director of analysts Springboard, said: “Hot weather typically sees shoppers gravitate to outdoor locations but the extreme heat saw the reverse, with a drop in footfall on high streets.”