Britons could be basking in 27C as soon as April and see the UK’s hottest temperature record “challenged” this summer, a weather expert has said. Jim Dale, Founder and the Senior Meteorological Consultant at British Weather Services, told the Express this year could see records broken.
He said: “I’m not sure that this year we will be able to escape the heat coming up through Europe from Africa. February was the third warmest on record around the world. If February was like that, then March could go in the same direction.”
Mr Dale said while last April was cold and wet, his expectation is Britain is set for more of the sunny weather seen this week “but with 10C extra”. He said: “In April, we could see 27C. I think there’s a chance we could revisit an April with heat and sunshine.”
Britain might find itself in the middle of a heatwave this summer or see hot weather mixed with thundery showers, according to Mr Dale, who cautioned that an “element of luck” would be involved given how unpredictable the weather has become.
The weather expert also suggested this year could see the highest recorded temperature in the UK beaten. In July 2022, Britain saw the mercury recorded above 40C for the first time, with 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
He said: “There’s every reason to believe that record could easily be challenged this year. Whether this year or next, it’s there to be challenged.”
His comments came as parts of the UK were hotter than Barcelona and the Costa Del Sol on Thursday, with a top temperature of 19C (66F). The average UK daytime maximum temperature in March is 9.2C. The highest March temperature on record was 25.6C on March 29, 1968.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon told the Express that at this range it wasn’t possible to predict this summer’s weather.
He said: “Meteorological summer doesn’t begin for another three months and while global weather patterns carry some influence on long-term outlooks, it is simply not possible to predict with any certainty the conditions the UK will experience this summer beyond normal seasonal expectations.
“Just small changes in global weather patterns can dramatically change the UK’s weather in a few weeks, so trying to ascertain specific conditions for the whole of the UK’s summer, when we’re only a week into spring, is something that’s not possible to do with any usefulness for the public at this time.”
He added that Met Office long-term outlooks will develop closer to the time, which will likely cover a range of possible scenarios for how this summer could play out.
Mr Dale said that while the world is under a cooling La Nina weather pattern, the drop in temperatures weather experts usually expect hasn’t followed.
He added: “This is quite disturbing and puzzling. In the southern hemisphere we’re seeing record after record broken in South America, southern Africa and Australia. This has extended into Mexico, Thailand and the Sahal.
“It doesn’t look as if temperatures are falling away with La Nina. It’s almost the opposite.”
Five cities in southern Brazil closed schools on Thursday due to a heat wave, as temperatures in some places rose as high as 36C (97F). A heat index in Buenos Aires climbed to 42C (107.6F) on Wednesday, sparking a power failure as locals ramped up use of fans and air-conditioners in a bid to keep cool.
Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to cross the southern coast of Queensland early on Saturday. Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north, but are rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner, which borders New South Wales. More than 4 million people lie in the cyclone’s path.
Mr Dale said there are already “ominous” signs of hotter than average temperatures in the northern hemisphere, with Gallinas, Mexico, recently recording 47.5C (118F) and a possibility Algeria might see the mercury in the low 40s soon.
He added: “Heat (in the northern hemisphere) grows at this time of year, we know that, but records are falling for the time of year. These are clues for the direction of travel.”
