If one believes the BBC headlines, the UK is heading towards its third heatwave of the year next week. “Third UK heatwave increasingly likely as 30C temperatures forecast” we’re told. Yet living in north west Cumbria, I’m still awaiting the first heatwave of the year, and despite the BBC headline, I’m unlikely to see it next week, assuming the BBC weather forecast is also accurate.

The problem with UK heatwave hype is the definition of a heatwave. Generally this is reckoned to be a period of days when the temperature is higher than normal for the region said to have encountered the heatwave. One definition is rendered thus: “A heatwave is a weather phenomenon defined by the ‘local cumulative excess heat over a sequence of unusually hot days and nights.’” The number of days and nights isn’t here specified. On the other hand, the definition offered by the Association of Healthcare Journalists tells us that “Internationally, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defines a heat wave as a period of five or more consecutive days with daily maximum temperature exceeding the average by at least 5°C (9°F), relative to the 1961–1990 baseline.” That (five days with temperatures higher than the long-term average by 5C) would put a spanner in the works of those who are keen to up the ante in respect of heatwaves. In the UK, however, we generally seem to work to the definition offered by the Met Office:

A UK heatwave threshold is met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold. The threshold varies by UK county, see the UK temperature threshold map below.

The map in question sets the threshold at 28C in London and counties immediately to the north of it, at 27C in a ring of counties around that core, 26C over counties immediately to the north and west of those, and 25C over the rest of England, almost all of Wales, all of Northern Ireland and all of Scotland.

Based on those temperatures, and the “three or more days” requirement, most of the UK didn’t experience the first “UK” heatwave in May 2026. In Cumbria, for instance, parts of the south Cumbria just eased up to 25C or 25.1C (or 25.5C in the case of Kendal) on Sunday 24th May, with temperatures peaking at Kendal on Monday 25th May at 28C (the hottest place in Cumbria) before falling away on Tuesday 26th May. The north of the county, where I live, never made it to 25C in May at all (the highest temperature in Carlisle was 23C or 24C (depending on who you believe) on Monday 25th May, well below the May record set there in 2016 (29.3C).

May 2026 was even worse in Scotland. According to the Met Office:

Scotland, while still experiencing generally above-average conditions, did not rank within its top ten warmest Mays on record, pointing to a more moderate temperature signal compared to other parts of the UK…Northern Scotland recorded the lowest average maximum temperature at 12.9°C…Northern Scotland also recorded the lowest average minimum temperature of 5.1°C…Northern Scotland recorded the least sunshine, with 137.2 hours. Lower than average at 78%….

So far as I can ascertain, only southern Scotland managed to exceed 25C for a single day. Edinburgh’s temperature peaked at 23.5C. Northern Ireland, similarly, managed (26.3C) to exceed the 25C threshold only on Monday 25th May. No May heatwave there, then, either.

In fairness, much of the country did manage to achieve heatwave status in June, with Northern Ireland having its fourth-warmest June since records began in 1884. Interestingly, the hottest June day on the island of Ireland was in 1887, at least according to the BBC.

Scotland, too, managed to achieve heatwave status with temperatures achieving or exceeding 25C at Threave in Dumfries & Galloway from 23rd to 25th June inclusive and in a few other places. However, Scotland suffers from the same north-south divide that the UK as a whole experiences. So far as I can see, only Tyndrum achieved heatwave status in June 2026 in Scotland north of the central belt. Shetland’s June temperature appears to have peaked at 16.7C on 26th June 2026.

Compared to Shetland, I suppose I shouldn’t complain about Cumbrian weather, but where I live we didn’t have a heatwave in June either. Yes, it was hot – very hot by Cumbrian standards – towards the end of June, but it was the requirement for three consecutive days of heat that let us down. Wednesday 24th June saw temperatures dip after a hot Tuesday, and although temperatures went back above 25C on the Thursday and Friday, they fell away again on Saturday 27th June (and it’s been cooler since then).

As for north Cumbria’s prospects of a first heatwave of the year, next week doesn’t look as though it’s going to cut the mustard. Where I live temperatures are set to peak (according to the BBC 14 day forecast) at 21C on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th July. I can’t see anywhere in Scotland with temperatures of more than 21C or 22C in the BBC weather forecast. That forecast expires on Wednesday 15th July, by which time we’ll be halfway through summer, I won’t have experienced a heatwave, and indeed I won’t have encountered anything like 1976. I wrote the following on 21st July 2022:

The summer of 2022 is of course only half-way through. However, by this stage in 1976 we were already remarking, where I then lived in the north of England, how hot and prolonged it was (and it still had quite some way to go). This year, by contrast, we’ve had a pretty poor spring, a thoroughly indifferent June, and two very hot days in July where I now live (in a different part of the north of the England, though on roughly the same line of latitude). The heatwave (do two days constitute a heatwave?) is over, and the following day saw pleasant summer temperatures (very low 20sC). It’s as well that we made the most of them, for looking at the 14 day weather forecast on the BBC website, all I see ahead is quite a lot of rain, and a highest temperature of 19C (with a few highs of 16C thrown in). By the time that forecast period is over, it will be August. It seems highly unlikely that the summer of 2022 will come anywhere close to the summer of 1976 in the UK as a whole.

History seems to be repeating itself.

51 Comments

  1. People being people wherever they live, there seems no merit in having a varying definition of a heatwave as far as its effects on humans is concerned. 30 C seems like a reasonable threshold to me.

    The other point is the use of the maximum temperature. The new thermometers may be trigger-happy when it comes to recording a daily maximum. And the peak temperature is by definition a temperature that is experienced only momentarily. It would be better to use a mean temperature for the recording of a heatwave – not least because one of the key problem one brings is the difficulty in sleeping. Maybe a threshold of 25 C mean temperatures might be appropriate. [The phenomenon of “tropical nights” or whatever they call it is relevant here. Also, in series, mean temperatures are highly correlated with maximum temperatures, not least because the maximum is used in estimating the mean.]

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  2. Jit,

    Thanks for making that point. If you think about it, in order to achieve a heatwave, based on its own rather lax definition, all the Met Office has to demonstrate is that for one minute a day, over three consecutive days, the temperature at one of its WMO class 5 weather stations nudges 25C (regardless of how cool it is for the rest of the day, and regardless of how cold it is overnight). It’s a pretty low bar, and yet where I live (and over much of the UK) that bar has not and probably won’t be exceeded this summer.

    I just asked AI how often Cumbria has seen a heatwave based on the Met Office definition (I did that because the Met Office website is notoriously difficult to use in such a way – it’s OK if you’re looking for a specific piece of information about a particular place and date). It tells me:

    The UK Met Office does not maintain a single, publicly accessible tally of the exact number of times Cumbria has historically hit its heatwave criteria, but local climatological data indicates it has occurred approximately 15 to 20 times since reliable regional records began.

    Yet we haven’t hit it where I live once so far this year, and according to the weather forecast, we’re not going to do so in the next fortnight. So what? Well, weather is just weather, regardless of how much the BBC, the Guardian, the World Weather Attribution Service would try to tell you otherwise. What it demonstrates is that the south of the country has been hot because of a plume of hot air from Africa, largely as a result of a settled area of high pressure situated so as to see the heat travel thus far and no further. Climate change? Perhaps, perhaps not. Three UK heatwaves by the middle of July 2026? Definitely not.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Somewhat O/T (but it’s my thread, so I don’t care). The BBC seems to be utterly obsessed with Taylor Swift, I have no idea why. Barely a day goes by without something about her appearing on the BBC website. On the run-up to her wedding, the BBC has gone in to overdrive. However, it has excelled itself with this headline this morning:

    “Could a heatwave hit Taylor Swift’s wedding?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c75ykqwgwl5o

    Liked by 3 people

  4. We seem to be having a farmers summer with regular rain and sunny intervals. At the moment the West coast Oban 12c cloudy , Central 14c sunny intervals (Tyndrum 12c cloudy), East coast Arbroath 13c cloudy with a moderate breeze so will feel cooler. Nothing decent in the forecast till next Wednesday with a high of 20c. We sometimes get a nice spell in August.

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  5. As it happens, I was staying with my elderly mother during the last heatwave. We were within the red zone and so I was ‘enjoying’ outside temperatures that were hitting the mid thirties. When the care worker turned up for my Mother’s teatime visit, I commented upon the heat she was having to work in. “Yes,” she replied, “and the worse thing is that even in this weather the elderly are still feeling the cold. I have just come from an elderly gentleman who has still got his central heating on full. His house was an oven, and yet he was still cold to the touch. No fun for me though!”

    Meanwhile, I’m checking my phone to see that back where I live oop north the temperature had reached a blistering 22c.

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  6. John R,

    As it happens, I was also visiting my elderly mother during the late June heatwave. I think the temperature reached 30C for a few hours where she lives. She found it a bit uncomfortable, but no more than that. She is in blood thinners, and feels the cold much more than the heat. I would guess that her central heating (controlled by a thermostat set at a high temperature) is probably on for 330-340 days a year.

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  10. I was staying by Bassenthwaite lake on 23rd and 24th. The 23rd was very warm but bearable. 24th was hot and uncomfortable. 25th/26th I was in Carlisle and the coach next to me kept starting its engine to run the air con – most annoying! The 26th it was supposed to cool off but it was unbearably hot and very humid and my entire jar of extra virgin coconut oil turned to liquid! I drove to Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfries, that day and despite having the windows open on the van and travelling at speed, it was stifling. The 27th it cooled down and it’s been rather cool, wet and windy ever since – so normal British summer weather. We had an autumnal storm one night. So I’d say personally, NW Cumbria and Dumfries & Galloway experienced a 3 day ‘heatwave’ from the 24th to 26th. Now it’s just bog standard British summer weather, i.e. pretty crap.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Jaime,

    I departed from Cumbria at 6am on the 24th, when it was around 16C, so I can’t personally attest as to Cumbrian temperatures on that day. My wife said it was pretty warm, but nothing like so warm as the 2 days that followed.

    So far as I have been able to ascertain, NW Cumbria didn’t make 25C that day, but I can’t definitively prove it.

    In any event, as you say, the weather has been poor since then. I think the temperature limped up to 16C here today.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Jaime,

    I struggle to access detailed daily data at the Met Office for individual weather stations last month, so I asked AI to give me the maximum temperature recorded at the Met Office weather station at Bridgefoot, Cumbria (the nearest one to where I live) on each day from 23rd to 30th June 2026 inclusive. Here is its response:

    Specific daily temperature logs from individual local monitoring stations—such as the one at Bridgefoot—are handled via localized HadUK-Grid interpolated observations and are not fully published day-by-day in immediate press recaps. However, the Met Office has released the verified daily timeline for Cumbria and the broader Northwest region during that historic late-June heatwave.

    The peak temperatures recorded during this exact window progressed as follows:

    • 23rd June: 21°C — The warm spell began building as high pressure moved in from the Atlantic.
    • 24th June: 22°C — Sunny intervals with climbing humidity levels across the region.
    • 25th June: 24°C — Significant spikes across Cumbria, with nearby Grasmere hitting 22°C and low-lying stations moving higher.
    • 26th June: 28°C — The absolute peak of the heatwave in Cumbria (the same day the UK broke its all-time June record at 37.7°C). Nearby Maulds Meaburn also verified at 28°C.
    • 27th June: 25°C — The extreme heat began to break, though conditions remained heavily humid and warm.
    • 28th June: 20°C — A notable cool-down started as clouds gathered over the Western Fells.
      29th June: 17°C — Temperatures returned closer to the June average under heavy cloud cover.
      30th June: 16°C — The heatwave officially ended as rain showers swept through the valley.

    Despite the references to heatwave, in fact if AI has correctly tracked down the data, then there was no heatwave, since there weren’t three consecutive days at or above 25C. I suspect it felt so hot on some days that didn’t make 25C, simply because it had been so cold for so long. We aren’t used to heat here!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Mark, maybe I’m just getting old and can’t stand the heat anymore, but it definitely felt hotter than that. I should get an external thermometer for the van – can’t be any less accurate than your typical Met Office weather station! However, the Met Office forecast for Carlisle on the two hottest days I’m sure was 30C or more. Shame I didn’t screenshot it.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Jaime,

    You may be correct about two days at 30C. When I returned home on the Thursday evening, the car thermometer said it was 30C.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. …the next brief ‘heatwave’ may strike on the 8th July….

    But not here! Forecast for 8th July here is a high temperature of 20C followed by a few days at 21C and a brief flurry at 22C.

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  19. “Internationally, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defines a heat wave as a period of five or more consecutive days with daily maximum temperature exceeding the average by at least 5°C (9°F), relative to the 1961–1990 baseline.”

    “A UK heatwave threshold is met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold. The threshold varies by UK county, see the UK temperature threshold map below.”

    Seems to me the MET, through it’s MSM weather presenters are intent on scaring the public to death when we have a hot summer nowadays.

    PS – realise, sadly, some kids have died In cold water swimming during this hot spell. Only comment on that, wild swimming has been almost encouraged in the MSM over the last few years.

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  20. I’m in the Scottish Borders and we did have a few days in June where it was very hot (by my standards) we even stopped using the electric blanket!
    I’m never sure how much notice we should take of the temperature gauges in cars, because on one day it said 38 degrees after I’d been parked in the Yarrow Valley for a few hours? But it was hot for sure! However now I’m back to staring at my weather app in the vain hope we will have another sunny day at some point!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Jane Wildish,

    Apologies for the fact that your comment (wrongly) got stuck in spam – the vagaries of WordPress, I’m afraid.

    A car thermometer is obviously not as reliable as a modern accurate thermometer in a well-sited WMO class 1 weather station (though possibly mot much less reliable than the WMO class 4 & 5 sites beloved of the Met Office where all the modern heat records seem to be set!). I think the main problem with them is that if you leave your car in the sun while you go shopping or for a walk, when you return it will give a wildly inaccurate figure. However, while driving, I think they’re reasonably reliable, within limits.

    dfhunter,

    The problem with the Met Office definition of a heatwave is that it takes no account of night time temperatures. International definitions of a heatwave seem to be focussed on health, and according to some of those definitions, hot days followed by cool nights wouldn’t count as a heatwave. It’s the relentless build-up of heat that counts. Having said that, even though the Met Office definition seems to be aimed at setting lots of records so as to scare people, I think it’s fair to say that in southern England there have been two heatwaves this year – but not over much of the country.

    Meanwhile, the BBC’s inaccurate reporting continues:

    “UK temperatures forecast to exceed 30C as another heatwave imminent”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/c621j44jwe1o

    No, UK temperatures are not forecast to exceed 30C. Temperatures are forecast to exceed 30C in some relatively small areas of the south of the UK.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Which is more accurate , during the winter BBC forecast for us – 6c, garden thermometer -10c and car thermometer beside house -9c on the move -10c. During the recent hot spell BBC 24c , garden 25c, car stationery 28c on the move 24c . The BBC never gets anywhere near the real lows of winter.

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  23. James S, I’m probably biased, but I would go with your car thermometer on the move (not stationary).

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  24. Jaime,

    I see that here in west Cumbria we are now forecast to hit 25C for two hours next week. Still no heatwave, though…..

    Liked by 1 person

  26. dfhunter,

    The Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect is massive, is under-compensated for in temperature records, and is growing rapidly. That’s why I wrote this:

    https://cliscep.com/2021/08/02/hot-in-the-city/

    The likes of the Guardian cheerfuly acknowledge UHI when they’re banging the climate justice drum – then articles appear noting the serious effects of UHI, which (according to the Guardian) have a much greater impact on the poor on the disadvantaged. Then (but only then) it’s acknowledged to be a problem. When hysterical articles appear about heatwaves, global warming, climate crisis etc, the UHI is mysteriously nowjere to be seen.

    Only this week the Guardian had an article titled “Sydney records hottest June since 1859 as expert warns new high a ‘signature’ of global warming – Bureau of Meteorology says city’s mean temperature reached 16.1C, surpassing the previous record of 15.7C set in 1991”:

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/04/sydney-records-hottest-june-since-1859-as-expert-warns-new-high-a-signature-of-global-warming

    Naturally, an expert is found to say:

    “It’s got the signature of global warming all over it,” Pitman said. “With temperature, there’s no wriggle room around it any more … We know that the warming is due to the failure of governments around the world to deeply cut emissions.”

    No mention of UHI, yet Sydney is a very much more highly urbanised place than in 1859 when, by modern standards, it was little more than a village. Ironically the article ends thus:

    The heat extended well beyond NSW. According to Weatherzone: “Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra all had one of their top five warmest Junes on record in 2026.”

    In other words, the heat extended to other large Australian cities (though I grant that Canberra is far from huge). They don’t cite thermometers in the middle of nowhere, where the UHI doesn’t come into play.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Mark, is that the same Andy Pitman I mentioned in Denierland, whose “there is no link between climate change and drought” became “I should have said no ‘direct’ link” 6 days later?

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Mark, my weather forecast predicts sunny, settled weather starting on July 8th, with temperatures of 25C on 10th and 11th. I do expect those maximum temperatures forecast to increase by a couple of degrees as we get nearer to the 8th. My guess is that we do actually experience a 3 day ‘heatwave’ (according to Met Office low standards) here in the far North West. Then it will no doubt be quickly back to the usual. Summer is turning out exactly as I though it would, so far.

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  30. Mark: “….I’m probably biased, but I would go with your car thermometer on the move (not stationary).”

    I agree with you that is preferable to anything put out by the Met Office/BBC. However I would expect the car thermometer to be biased high – even on the move – because it is sampling air just above an asphalt surface together with hot exhausts (in traffic).

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  31. MikeH,

    That’s a very good point. I am sure there is a “motorway heat island” effect.

    Travelling south to visit family, we leave the M6 and run parallel with it on a minor road for a few miles. The car thermometer always drops by 1 or 2C when we leave the motorway.

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  32. My local forecast is now predicting 26C for 10th, 11th and 12th July. The jet stream forecast is now for an extended period of high pressure over the the British Isles, for most of the next 10 days. I wonder if our creaking national grid will cope?

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  33. Jaime, it depends on which weather forecast you look at. Ironically (given the extent to which the BBC is hyperventilating about multiple heatwaves) the BBC forecast for Cockermouth’s top temperatures over the next few days is as follows:

    Today: 18C

    Tomorrow: 19C

    Wednesday: 21C

    Thursday: 22C

    Friday: 25C (for 6 hours)

    Saturday: 23C

    Sunday: 23C

    Monday: 22C

    Tuesday: 23C

    Wednesday: 22C

    Thursday: 20C

    Friday: 19C

    Saturday: 19C

    Sunday: 19C.

    I am looking forward to some nice weather, for a change. As you suggest, however, the people charged with making the grid run smoothly may be less pleased.

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  34. I use the Met Office 5 day forecast Mark. The forecast for Cockermouth is for 26C maximum on Friday and Saturday and 25C on Sunday. A week of warm sunny weather and light winds would be most welcome, minus the ‘heatwave’ hype and health warnings!

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Well, Jaime, I believe there is another irony at play here. A year ago the BBC announced that it was teaming up with the Met Office again:

    “The BBC and the Met Office today announce they are forming an exciting new partnership to deliver the most trusted and accurate weather service to everyone in the UK”

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/corporate-news/2025/partnership-annoucement

    …The long-term partnership will be developed in phases over the coming months and years and will also focus on weather education, countering mis- and dis-information in the weather and climate space and creating communities where people share weather stories and information….

    Yet they offer up weather forecasts that contradict each other (in the detail, at least).

    Liked by 1 person

  36. The BBC is at it again:

    “Amber heat-health alerts issued as UK could see 10 consecutive days of temperatures over 30C”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/cly77zjey40o

    No, BBC, not the UK, parts of southern England. Whether the forecast Jaime has read, or the one I referred to is correct, not a single day is going to reach 30C here, and the same is true of much of the UK.

    …is in London and south-east England where the temperature may peak at around 34C on Wednesday and Thursday….

    …some weather forecasting models are suggesting there is a chance that parts of the UK could see temperatures in the mid- to high 30s later in the week….

    The BBC opened it up to comments. Many people are convinced it’s all a climate catastrophe, but among the comments is this (in response to the rather silly comment “The coolest summer for the rest of our lives”):

    I hope not. Where I am it’s 16°C, there’s thick cloud cover and a cold wind. Not all of the UK is experiencing a heatwave.

    Liked by 2 people

  37. By the looks of things, the heat will be especially brief in the north east, as the wind direction changes to north easterly and cloud and cool air is blown in off of the north sea on Saturday and Sunday.

    Liked by 1 person

  38. More misinformation in a BBC headline:

    “Amber heat-health alerts in effect as UK set for one of longest-lasting heatwaves since 1976”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/cwy0jpez1nqo

    No, the UK is not set for a long-lasting heatwave – parts of the south and east of England (and perhaps Wales) are set for that. Much of the UK hasn’t had a single heatwave yet, and won’t be affected by the one in the south. The reference to 1976 is a false conflation. Unlike 2026, the thing about 1976 was that pretty much the whole country was hot (and exceptionally dry) for long periods of time.

    As the BBC report notes (of course, not everyone will read beyond the headline, so job done as far as the BBC is concerned):

    Amber and yellow heat-health alerts are in place across England…. 

    Yet it still goes on to say, with much less accuracy:

    …as the UK braces for one of the longest-lasting heatwaves since 1976.

    Also:

    Temperatures could rise as high as 36C (97F) for parts of southern England this week. However, readings will range widely across the country, from the mid-20s Celsius in the north to those mid-30s further south. [my emphasis]….

    …As high pressure shifts towards the end of the week, an easterly wind will pick up and cool down eastern areas of the UK….

    Look at the high temperatures on the weather maps accompanying the article. Nowhere in Scotland or Northern Ireland is shown hitting the (3 day) 25C threshold even once. In Shetland, the highest temperature shown is 16C.

    Throughout this week and next, parts of southern England are forecast to experience temperatures in excess of 27 or 28C, meeting the heatwave threshold for the area.

    Some locations could ultimately remain in a heatwave for as many as 14 days.

    But not the UK as a whole – far from it.

    Liked by 1 person

  39. The heatwave hysteria from the MET via the weather presenters is getting tiresome.

    Now we have –‘Extreme’ marine heatwave expected for parts of UK with risk to sea life – BBC News

    “A marine heatwave could reach “extreme” levels around parts of the UK later this week, according to the Met Office, raising concerns for marine life.

    Long periods of sea heat can trigger mass die-offs among some seagrasses, shellfish and other species, as well as encouraging greater numbers of warm-water creatures including octopus.

    The heatwave is currently strongest off the coasts of eastern and southern England, and sea temperatures could reach 4-5C above average in places.

    The marine heatwave has been fuelled by the “heat domes” that brought record-breaking air temperatures in May and June, on top of long-term ocean warming due to climate change.”

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  40. dfhunter,

    Yes, it is tiresome. I am tired of speculation about things that could happen being reported as news with scary headlines. I would much prefer that they wait until it does happen, then report on the consequences. If it happens, and if the scaremongering has been justified, then by all means bang on about it. But please wait until it has happened rather than speculate. Speculation is propaganda. If it doesn’t come to pass, the headlines (which would then be inaccurate) will still be remembered (and believed), of course.

    Liked by 2 people

  41. Thinking about my comment quote –

    “Long periods of sea heat can trigger mass die-offs among some seagrasses, shellfish and other species, as well as encouraging greater numbers of warm-water creatures including octopus.”

    This sems to imply that this has happened in the past, wonder what 1976 sea heat was?

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  42. Still the misleading headlines from the BBC:

    “UK bakes in 35C highs as heatwave to continue next week” [my emphasis]

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/c0my38l4ex3o

    The UK is set to bake in another day of 35C highs, with temperatures expected to remain at heatwave level until the end of next week….[my emphasis].

    We didn’t make 25C yesterday, where I live. We’re forecast 27C today, then the temperature drops back below 25C.

    Liked by 1 person

  43. We are across in Northumberland Cresswell with the g’kids, the last 2 days been glorious with highs of 24c, today 20c then possible rain and 19c tomorrow. We go home on Monday to highs of 19c with rain

    Liked by 1 person

  44. JamesS,

    Sunny and hot in NW Cumbria today: 27 or 28C, I believe. Forecast 25C tomorrow, but then sub-25C until a couple of 25C days forecast next week.

    Still no sign of a run of three 25C days here, still waiting for that elusive heatwave. To be honest, I’m glad. I don’t like it too hot. Next week looks splendid here. 😊

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  45. The sunny Isle of Man is getting a visit from Charlie next week – Isle of Man prepares for King’s historic visit as royal route receives final touches | iomtoday.co.im

    “He will then attend a garden party at Government House before visiting the horse tramway, where he is expected to ride aboard the recently restored double-decker No. 18 – the world’s oldest tramcar still in regular service.”

    Was thinking about popping into The Terminus Tavern – Okell’s Isle of Man Pub to see his Maj on the horse tram, but seems due to security no outdoor area will be available for the public, so won’t bother.

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  46. Bit O/T – Overheating in homes: how big is the problem and what can we do to mitigate the effects?

    The blurb –

    “Overheating in homes: how big is the problem and what can we do to mitigate the effects?”

    A few quotes –

    “Why our our homes overheating?

    The Met Office is categorical about the reason behind our increased temperatures: “UK mean temperatures have been shifting over the decades as a result of human-induced climate change”.

    But global warming isn’t the entire story when it comes to increasing temperatures in our homes. Homes built to modern Building Regulations are better insulated and designed to be more air tight and therefore energy efficient. However, this can also lead to raised indoor temperatures.

    And then there’s the location of our new build homes, the majority of which are in cities. For many residents in built up urban environments, opening windows to allow cooler air in to their homes is not always an option due to noise, pollution and safety concerns.”

    “However, some types of development, such as material change of use whereby existing buildings are repurposed as much needed housing, are not covered and their potential risk of overheating has been undiminished by Part O’s introduction.

    Increasingly, organisations operating in the housing sector are calling on the government to develop a national strategy on overheating that is more ambitious than the current collection of policy and initiatives, and that introduces urgency into combatting and mitigating overheating. The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence goes as far to call for a lead Minister for heat resilience to act as a focal point and drive forward coordinated action in this area.

    Creating and adopting a national heat resilience strategy isn’t such a tall order. The government did, after all, sign up to the Global Cooling Pledge initiative at COP28, which has a commitment to produce a national cooling action plan. Ultimately, we will have to wait to see how seriously the government really takes the issue of overheating.”

    Not sure if this is the best place for this.

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  47. dfhunter,

    We get the heat hype every summer. But summer feels short while winter feels long.

    For all the hysteria, for the vast majority of people in the UK, keeping their home warm is far more important (and expensive) than keeping it cool, just as it remains the case that far more people in the UK die every year from cold than from heat.

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  48. Suppose I was thinking about – Insulate Britain – & the unintended consequences of the disaster that only focusing on insulating homes for winter has had when we have a hot summer.

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  49. The current north south divide in severe heat summer is approximately 20c , during the severe winters 2010/11/12 the range was -22c to -2c again 20c. These are conditions I have experienced at home and on our travels so are not a perfect representation of everywhere , we have experienced the same between France 34c and the South of England 14c in June just past. Is this the magic figure for a dip in the Jet Stream and the Southern heat dome or a fluke of nature.

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  51. Mark – no matter what the rest of summer is like they have the heatwaves to push the narrative.

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