The Met Office has given its forecast for Liverpool and beyond amid reports a "heat spike" will hit the UK.
Some outlets are reporting the El Nino phenomenon, which triggers higher global temperatures, could bring temperatures of 30C to the UK this week, and highs of up to 35C in the second half of July. It comes after the Earth's average temperature remained at a record high on Wednesday, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records.
The average global temperature was 17.18C, according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyser, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world's climate. That matched a record set on Tuesday of 17.18C and came after a previous record of 17.01C was set on Monday.
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The Met Office does predict things will get considerably warmer on Merseyside this week, but not quite 30C. It is forecast to reach 26C on Friday, but the warmer weather isn't set to last long.
Saturday is also forecast to be warm, with expected highs of 23C, but rain will follow the short, hot spell. Sunday will be similarly rainy, with highs of 20C that fall to 18C by Tuesday, July 11.
Looking ahead to the second half of the month, the Met Office UK long range forecast says: "Conditions may start this period relatively unsettled. However, towards the end of July and into August there are signs of a trend from generally less settled conditions towards generally more settled conditions, with higher pressure perhaps more likely to develop close to the northwest of the UK."
This would mean a "reduction in rainfall with average or drier than average conditions" with temperatures returning to "generally above average values; however no extreme or prolonged heat is signalled at this stage.
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