How did you find last week’s heatwave? Sweaty? Exhausting? Or maybe you enjoyed the perfect pub-garden weather and got a lovely tan. Whatever your thoughts, you’ll need to crack out the suncream once again and prepare as another heatwave – defined by the Met Office as three consecutive days of high temperatures – is headed our way.
In some parts of eastern and south-eastern England, particularly around London and the home counties, temperatures are expected to reach the low thirties once again early next week. The warmer weather will likely creep in over the next couple of days and peak at some point between Sunday and Tuesday, depending on exactly where in the country you are.
At its hottest, the mercury could hit 33C without much cloud cover to filter out the rays. There’s even a chance that Monday could be the hottest day of the year so far.
The south west, north, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will avoid the worst of the heat, and can expect highs of 20-25C. Along with this, more thunderstorms are to be expected as the humidity turns into heavy showers along the east coast into the night.
Long range forecasts from the Met Office, although not always completely reliable, reckon that we will continue to see very changeable weather until the end of July, so we could be in for a very mixed bag of a summer. Current long range predictions are predicting the ‘wettest and windiest conditions [are] most likely towards the northwest’ with ‘southern and eastern areas are most favoured for longer drier and more settled spells’, although that comes with the caveat that when the south east does say rain, it will likely be thundery.
Let’s hope we get some more manageable sunshine in the latter half of July – without the accompanying thunderstorms
How to stay safe in a heatwave
The Met Office has specific guidance for how to keep yourself safe during periods of extreme heat, particularly if you are part of an already at-risk group such as the elderly or those with asthma. Try to stay away from the sun at the hottest hours of the day (11am-3pm), and stay in the shade whenever you can. If you’re indoors, shut curtains in rooms with direct sunlight, and, of course, make sure to drink loads of water throughout.
What’s the weather like for Glastonbury?
Although the heights of this heatwave won’t quite reach worthy farm, those at Glastonbury will be glad to hear that the festival will mostly be held in the sun. Friday and Saturday should be quite pleasant, with peaks at around 26C with cloudy intervals, but those tents might be very by sweaty Sunday as temperatures reach 28C in the area.
Did you know that the best pub in Britain has been crowned at the 2025 Pub and Bar Awards?
It’s official: one of the most beautiful buildings in the world is in the UK
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.