Run of very high UK temperatures 'set to end' - but intense heat may return, say forecasters

The current run of very high UK temperatures is set to end in the coming days - but may return in the weeks ahead, forecasters have said.

Tuesday was the 10th day in a row when 30C (86F) was exceeded somewhere in the country, when Heathrow in London hit 30.4C (86.72F).

The third heatwave of the summer has brought more unusually high temperatures and health warnings after what was provisionally the hottest June on record in England, as climate change continues to drive extreme conditions across the UK and Europe.

Forecasters believe temperatures could again climb significantly in the weeks ahead, with conditions expected to be "warmer than average" - but the next few days will still be hot in some parts as temperatures continue to linger in the high 20s Celsius.

Sky News meteorologist Dr Christopher England said: "We've had an almost record number of days over 30C in the UK, but it looks like the current run of very high temperatures will end this weekend, with the heatwave conditions confined to the South West by Saturday.

"There's only a very small chance of somewhere exceeding 30C by then, with 29C (84.2F) looking much more likely as a high.

"The next few weeks look like being warmer than average, with the possibility of further hot spells in the South and West, particularly, so we may well see the return of 30C in places, but long-term forecasts are of limited accuracy."

The Met Office has revealed there have been 25 days so far this year when temperatures have exceeded 30C in the UK.

This surpasses the 24 days of 30C-plus temperatures in the punishingly hot year of 1976 - and means 2026 is only now behind the record of 34 set in 1995, with much of the summer still to go.

It also comes as a new report shows human-caused climate change - mostly through the burning of fossil fuels - is driving more intense weather, with extreme conditions now increasingly being seen as normal, the Met Office has said.

The weather agency said the UK's climate of the 20th century "has now gone" and is still "on the move".

Dr England said: "As an indication of climate change, it's interesting to note that Greater London now has four times as many days over 30C as we had during the last century."

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The Met Office recently revealed that across the whole of the 20th century there had been "just three days where temperatures exceeded 36C (96.8F)" but there were three such days in a "single spell" during the heatwave at the end of June.

"This reflects a broader trend towards more frequent extreme heat," it added.

(c) Sky News 2026: Run of very high UK temperatures 'set to end' - but intense heat may return, say forecasters