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?

12:00
5 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
Noctilucent clouds spotted over the UK. Shimmering summer view. . . Monday, 29 June 2026
Wispy electric-blue noctilucent clouds glowing above a dark twilight horizon, with rooftops, utility poles, streetlights, and overhead wires silhouetted beneath the night sky.
Monday, 29 June 2026

Shimmering summer view

Noctilucent clouds spotted over the UK
Unusually strong thunderstorms possible. Ireland & Scotland. . . Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Weather map of Ireland and the UK showing marked warning areas and a lightning warning symbol. Indication of an increased risk of severe weather on Thursday.
Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Ireland & Scotland

Unusually strong thunderstorms possible
A hot and thundery week. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 28 June 2026
Split image showing a bright branching lightning bolt illuminating pink storm clouds on the left and a vivid rainbow arching above a rocky coastline and calm sea beneath dark clouds on the right.
Sunday, 28 June 2026

Your weather - Your shots

A hot and thundery week
All weather news
This might also interest you
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday, 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday, 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands. Storm and rain. . . Friday, 12 December 2025
Weather graphic showing rain and wind fields over the Canary Islands and a central warning symbol.
Friday, 12 December 2025

Storm and rain

Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands
Storm Benjamin impacts the UK. Warnings active. . . Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Split weather map showing UK wind speeds in orange-red shades up to 40 mph on the left and warning levels in green-yellow on the right, with a central wind warning sign.
Wednesday, 22 October 2025

Warnings active

Storm Benjamin impacts the UK
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