The United Kingdom should be bracing itself for a hotter than average summer, as the Met Office predicts a long and hot summer. According to forecasters, this year‘s British summer will be above average in heat, and that is expected to continue over the next three months. Last May was the hottest one on record so far, and the Met Office anticipates that the warm, sunny weather will last throughout June, July, and August. Those months are also expected to be drier than the average summer in the UK. But families may want to wait a little while longer before they set up the barbecues and arrange the outdoor furniture for entertaining, as there could still be weekly, or even daily changes throughout the summer, The Telegraph reports.
The southern heat has reached Scandinavia
The Met Office has not issued a warning about a heatwave, despite predictions, however, they point out that even though this summer might be above average, so have the last three out of five summers. When asked if this summer was expected to be the hottest in 12 years, the Met Office‘s spokesperson Mr Graham Madge did not want to rule that out. He pointed out the average temperature in June is 13 degrees Celsius and it could well go higher, The Independent reported. According to the Met Office website, a heatwave is defined as a "prolonged period of hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity.“ They note that although the UK experiences a heatwave every now and then, it happens less frequently than elsewhere globally.
Heat has been rising across the globe as the world embraces the summer months, in Sweden, the Swedish weather agency, SMHI, issued warnings across the country in May, saying that the risk of forest and ground fire would increase in such dry and warm weather. People in Norway were also feeling the heat, as the hot air, which normally covers the southern part of Europe, extended to Scandinavia.
The predictions could change on daily basis
A heatwave in the UK in August 2003 claimed the lives of 2,000 people, with the maximum recorded temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius. Last May, the total of 245.3 hours of sunshine were recorded across the country, setting a record. Never before have there been so many hours of sunlight since records began in 1929, The Guardian reports.
The forecast for this summer is based on information from observations and expert judgment. Hotter than average nights could also be a factor in those predictions, but not enough to set any records according to The Independent. But The Met Office stated that even though the heat is expected to continue, there is also a chance that it could decline.
