It’s been a cool start to July with temperatures running about 2°C below average for the first half of the month. Temperatures reached 25°C for the first time in the month on Wednesday at Wisley, Surrey – not very high for the height of summer.
Highest temperatures are expected to reach 27°C or 28°C on Thursday, with the heat really concentrated across the Midlands and southern and eastern England. Heat health alerts have been issued from 17:00 BST for these areas.
The heat isn’t across the whole of the UK, however. While it will be quite warm for Wales and northern and western England, for Northern Ireland and Scotland it will be cloudier with temperatures close to, or a little below average. This brief hot spell will peak on Friday, with temperatures set to reach 30°C or 31°C in parts of south-east England, which could make it the hottest day of the year so far.
The current highest temperature of the year stands at 30.5°C, recorded at Wisley, Surrey, on 26 June – so it’s going to come down to a matter of tenths of a degree as to whether we surpass this figure or not.
