Heatwave might keep going until HOTOBER
As temperatures in Europe soar to 46C, Met Off ice says...
IT’S THE heatwave that never seems to end. And now forecasters predict we could be basking – or sweating uncomfortably – in warm weather until well into the autumn.
Britain is much more likely to see hotter than normal temperatures thanks to continuing high pressure continuing into October, according to the Meteorological Office.
The latest long- range forecast comes as up to one million Brits abroad in the Mediterranean sizzled yesterday in temperatures peaking at 45.5C (113.9F), driven by an African plume of hot air sweeping across Europe.
Holiday make r s and expats sweltered in the heat – which reached its highest levels in Portugal, where firefighters battled wild fires, and Spain, where warnings were issued.
The near-record high temperatures across Europe have been caused by an area of high pressure sitting off the shore of Portugal which has been drawing up hot air from the Sahara, say forecasters.
There had been predictions that Europe’s record temperature of 48C, set in Athens in 1977, might be broken this weekend, but the mercury fell short, with a high of 46.4C on Friday. Yesterday’s 45.5C peak was in the Portuguese village of Alvega, about 100 miles north-east of the capital Lisbon, according to the Meteorological Office. Holiday- makers were warned t o st ay hydrated and to keep out of the sun during the hottest times.
A major fire broke out on Friday in Monchique, in Portugal’s southern Algarve region, consuming more than 1,000 hectares of eucalyptus forest and forcing evacua- tions from one village. Elsewhere in Europe, four nuclear reactors in France were f orced to cl ose because of the heat, while some sections of road in the Netherlands closed after asphalt melted.
Meanwhile, UK sun-seekers from Brighton to Norfolk and Canter- bury to Dorset basked in the fine weather. Temperatures reached a high of 29.8C (85.6F) in Gosport, Hampshire, with forecasts that London will see 30C today at popular tourist spots Kew Gardens and St James’s Park.
The Met Office has issued a ‘yellow’ heat warning for the South East of England which will remain in place until 9am tomorrow morning, with high temperatures across the country. Meteorologist Dean Hall said: ‘We could see temperatures of 29C, 30C in London tomorrow, probably somewhere like Kew Gardens or St James’s Park. There will be plenty of fine weather around.’
He added: ‘ Temperatures will creep up again through Monday, so we could see 30C, even 31C in the South-East.
‘The peak of the heat is really on Tuesday. We could see 31C, with a low probability we could see 32C around Cambridgeshire, towards Norfolk and into Lincolnshire.
‘In general, around London it will be 29C, 30C. Then, really, it’s a dramatic drop in temperatures. By the time we get to Wednesday, it will be 23C (73.4F), 24C in London.’
But the Met Office says the probability that overall temperatures in the next three months will remain in the warmest category is 55 per cent, while the likelihood that they will be in the coldest is only five per cent.
Offering a tiny glimmer of hope for heat sufferers, its long-range report for August, September and October, adds: ‘The likelihood of above- average temperatures is greater than normal, but while the chances of below-average temperatures are considerably smaller, they remain a realistic possibility.’