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
UV levels peak with the heat today. Latest heatwave. . . Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Split graphic showing a temperature map of England and eastern Ireland with temperatures reaching 33°C near London, 32°C in Norwich, and 29°C around Birmingham on the left, alongside a person applying sunscreen with a UV icon on the right.
Wednesday, 29 July 2026

Latest heatwave

UV levels peak with the heat today
Clouds return to capture the scene. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 26 July 2026
Waxing crescent Moon above vivid pink and magenta sunset clouds, with silhouetted trees along the horizon beneath a deepening blue twilight sky.
Sunday, 26 July 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Clouds return to capture the scene
Floods and landslides in parts of Asia. An unusual monsoon. . . Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Split image: On the left, flooded villages and fields can be seen in a vast landscape. On the right, a weather map of India shows heavy rainfall, along with a warning sign featuring a car in floodwater.
Wednesday, 29 July 2026

An unusual monsoon

Floods and landslides in parts of Asia
All weather news
This might also interest you
Long-term trends need a pinch of salt. 40 °C in July?. . . Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Temperature radar of 2022 heatwave where the all-time temperature record in the UK was set. Warning symbol overlain.
Tuesday, 30 June 2026

40 °C in July?

Long-term trends need a pinch of salt
Bright and warm conditions take hold. Spring-like outlook. . . Thursday, 23 April 2026
Split UK map showing warm temperatures up to 21 degrees in orange on the left and clear sunny conditions with temperatures from 12 to 18 degrees on the right, with sun icons across the country.
Thursday, 23 April 2026

Spring-like outlook

Bright and warm conditions take hold
Storm Chandra makes impact. Severe gales & heavy rain. . . Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Split image showing strong winds over the UK on a forecast map and widespread rain and snow on a weather radar map.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Severe gales & heavy rain

Storm Chandra makes impact
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