Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
Home / Editor's Pick /

Seeking the truth: Extreme heat, or extreme headlines?

09:00
7 July 2022

Seeking the truth
Extreme heat, or extreme headlines?

Sunbathers at Brighton Pier in a heatwave last year© picture alliance

A heatwave is on the horizon, but how severe is it really looking?

Through the week, temperatures will be gradually on the rise as high pressure begins to build in from the south-west.

Depending on the exact placement of the high and the jet stream, there is the chance that we could draw up even more heat from the southern European continent.

Whilst weather models at present are trending with temperatures rocketing to around 30C next week, one publicly available weather model, has been showing something a little more severe, with a few alarming 40C figures popping up in there.

This is the first time any operational model run has shown 40C across the British Isles, so has consequently received major media attention.

However, there a lot of considerations that need to be taken before jumping to any conclusions:

  • These significantly high temperatures are still 10-14 days out. Weather models become inherently inaccurate this far into the future, and are only reliable with such detail a couple of days out
  • There are several weather models, each producing several different (and less extreme) outputs a day that many people do not get to see; the significantly higher values are an outlier and not an indication of the average trend
  • Weather model outputs are not a forecast, just a possibility from a range of scenarios
  • The weather is highly changeable in the British Isles; many factors would need to align to produce such extreme heat

Unfortunately, is not impossible for temperatures to soar to 40C in the British Isles. Such temperatures are now a realistic probability during the summer, especially in theme with recent record-breaking heat across the rest of Europe.

It’s still far too early to say whether this has any truth in it, but rest assured, we’ll be providing honest forecast updates as the week goes on.

You can keep an eye on our TemperatureRadar up to three days ahead too.

Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Split image showing a glowing lenticular cloud halo around the sun over a green field on the left and a hazy sunrise reflecting across calm sea and beach on the right.
Sunday, 15 March 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Spring haze and rain on video
Temperature map of southeast England highlighting Northolt at 19.2 °C near London, with surrounding values around 18 °C in Reading, Slough, and Aylesbury.
Friday, 6 March 2026

Over 19 degrees

Warmest day of the year so far
Weather radar showing a storm front over the USA and a lightning strike warning symbol. Many marked storm cells along a line from Texas to the Midwest. Next to it, a photo of lightning over the sea at night.
Thursday, 5 March 2026

Tornado risk increases

Thunderstorm season begins in the US
All weather news
This might also interest you
UK temperature map dated 14.02 showing widespread subzero values in blue shading, with readings such as −4 in Glasgow, −3 in Dublin, and −2 in London, alongside a blue thermometer icon.
Friday, 13 February 2026

Icy conditions

A frozen start to the weekend
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
Weather map of the UK and Ireland showing scattered showers with cloudy patches across much of the region, especially around western and northern areas. Sunshine symbols appear over London, Cardiff, and parts of southern England, while temperatures range from 17°C to 18°C in most places. Areas of heavier rain are visible over the Atlantic to the west.
Friday, 29 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Unsettled conditions into the weekend
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList