When is the next heatwave?
IT'S already July and Brits are still waiting for a stint of warm weather to celebrate the easing of lockdown restrictions. June and July have been plagued with thunderstorms and wet weather but thankfully warm weather is ahead. According to the Met Office, a heatwave is coming in the second half of July. The "hot spell" of weather is expected to hit England from July 19 to August 2. "For the rest of July and into early August, there is a chance of conditions being warmer and drier than average overall," the Met Office predicts. "Temperatures are likely to be above average, with the south possibly feeling very warm or hot at times." But before the heatwave, there will be more unsettled weather. From July 12 to July 21, the Met Office forecasts "We could see a continuation of showers and longer periods of rain going into next week, these potentially heavy and widespread." According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a heatwave is "five or more consecutive days of prolonged heat in which the maximum temperature is higher than the average maximum temperature by 5 degrees Celsius or more." Heatwaves form when high pressure strengthens and remains over an area for multiple days up to weeks. In a high-pressure system, air from higher levels of the atmosphere gets pulled to the ground where it becomes compressed and increases in temperature. Heatwaves are more popular in the summertime due to jet streams following the sun thus causing the pressure to build and the air to get hotter when it lands.