After the fourth heatwave of the summer, temperatures have plummeted – but the nation is set for a return to balmy conditions, with the Met Office suggesting this weekend could see ‘pleasant warmth’
Following Britain’s fourth heatwave of the year, temperatures have plummeted dramatically. However, the Met Office has now predicted that temperatures are set to “rise” once more.
Last week saw the UK experience temperatures exceeding 30C as the entire continent of Europe was engulfed by a heatwave, which triggered catastrophic wildfires across Spain, Greece and Portugal.
Come the weekend, the scorching conditions concluded for most of Britain, with temperatures falling to the low 20Cs – but that’s about to shift again.
The Met Office has turned to social media platform X to announce that some “pleasant warmth” is heading to Britain over the coming days.
In their X post, the Met Office stated: “High pressure will be building towards the weekend to provide a largely settled picture. Temperatures will climb slightly as well – not as high as the recent heat, but some pleasant warmth”.
“Stay up to date with the forecast to see if this holds on for bank holiday Monday.”
The nationwide outlook for the weekend states: “The forecast for Bank Holiday Monday is for reasonably fair weather, with light winds and sunny spells continuing from the weekend.”
Greater Manchester is expected to reach highs of 24C and lows of 12C this weekend, with minimal rainfall presently forecast, reports the Manchester Evening News.
This follows the Met Office revealing that summer 2025 could become the hottest on record, as the average temperature from 1 June to 17 August currently sits at 16.2C – which is 1.6C above the long-term meteorological average. Met Office scientist, Emily Carlisle, revealed: “It’s looking like this summer is on track to be one of the warmest, if not ‘the’ warmest, since the series began in 1884. What’s striking is the consistency of the warmth. June and July were both well above average and even outside of heatwaves, temperatures have remained on the warmer side.
“This persistent warmth is driven by a combination of factors including dry ground from spring, high-pressure systems, and unusually warm seas around the UK. These conditions have created an environment where heat builds quickly and lingers. While we haven’t seen record-breaking highs, with 35.8C the peak so far this year, the overall trend in consistently above-average temperatures is what matters.
“At present, the warmest UK summers on record are pretty clustered. They include 2018 as the warmest, then 2006, 2003, 2022 and 1976. With two weeks still to go, things could of course change, but the data so far strongly suggests we’re heading towards one of the UK’s hottest summers on record.”