Brits have been experiencing unprecedented heat over the past few months, with a scorching summer seeing temperature records broken in several places.
An incredible four back-to-back heatwaves have made some parts of the UK enjoyably warm at times, but also saw some health warnings as temperatures became dangerous.
Temperatures are on track to “almost certainly” make it the hottest-ever summer recorded in the UK on average, the Met Office has confirmed.
Over the bank holiday weekend, temperatures reached 29.1C in the village of Hawarden in Flintshire and 24.5C in Magilligan, Londonderry.
The previous record for Wales was 26.5C dating back to 1991, and 23.8C for Northern Ireland.
Many will now be wondering whether the hot weather – which has shown little sign of stopping – will continue into September, or if we can expect a more traditional transition towards cooler autumn climes.
In the short term, an end does appear to be in sight. Forecasts for the coming week show showers and cooler temperatures, settling below 20C in most places, into September.
Stephen Dixon from the Met Office said: “The UK’s weather is transitioning to a more unsettled pattern in the coming days, with frequent showers, some longer spells of rain and even some periods of sunshine at times, while temperatures will be closer to average for the time of year.”
This kind of weather also looks set to continue well into September, as a low-pressure system caused by remnants of Hurricane Erin looks set to change the atmosphere.
The hurricane hit the Caribbean before heading to the east coast of the US and Canada last week, before heading further north, where it is dissipating.
This kind of unsettled climate looks to be the norm for September. Mr Dixon said: “The current outlook shows little change in the mobile westerly regime, with periods of showers interspersed with some brighter spells and little signal in the way of any warmth.”
However, the meteorological expert also added: “We know it is possible in a UK climate to see a warmth in September, particularly in the South, so it’s not something that can be ruled out quite yet, though there’s no obvious signal in the immediate forecast.”
While not conclusive, the expert view is that it is unlikely the UK will see another heatwave in 2025.
Looking to the future, many climate experts predict that extreme weather, such as the UK’s heatwaves this year, could become the norm in the coming years.
The hot weather has not just been restricted to the UK this summer, but has been felt all over Europe. This has led to some devastating impacts, with wildfires flaring up in warmer nations like Spain, France and Greece.
Writing last month, Met Office climate scientist Mike Kendon said: “Every year that goes by is another upward step on the warming trajectory our climate is on. Observations show that our climate in the UK is now notably different to what it was just a few decades ago. We are now seeing records being broken very frequently as we see temperature and rainfall extremes being the most affected by our changing climate.”
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