London to be as hot as Barcelona this week

London is set to be as warm as Barcelona this week, with conditions finally turning a bit more ‘summer-like’.

Forecasters at the Met Office say the capital could bask in temperatures as high as 24C by Friday.

That would mean heat similar to those enjoyed by holidaymakers in the Catalan city, and only a degree or two cooler than in Tenerife, Majorca and Nice in the south of France.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said: ‘In stark contrast to the first half of June, where temperatures have widely been below average, we are expecting to see a steady uptick through the second half of this week, rising to around or above average, and it will likely feel very warm for those in the sunshine.’

It comes after temperatures so far this month have been slightly below their seasonal average, affecting small businesses which rely on tourism or high street foot traffic at the start of summer.

The UK experienced its coolest first 10 days of June since 2020, in contrast to the hottest June on record, seen this time last year, where the mercury rose as high as 32.2C in Lincolnshire and Surrey.

And several regions in the UK have a bit more wet weather to contend with before things brighten up.

Weather warnings for thunderstorms have been issued for most of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and the East Midlands between 11am and 9pm today.

Oli Claydon, spokesman for the Met Office, said: ‘As we progress through June, obviously the temperatures are going to generally increase on average anyway, but it will feel more summer-like, especially in the sunshine.

‘The absence of wind over the next couple of days will help as well.’

Brighter conditions will cover southern England for much of Monday and Tuesday where it will feel ‘much warmer than it did over the weekend’, while showers will still be possible across northern parts of the country and in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A ridge of high pressure will initially bring cloud on Wednesday before thinning out for further brighter spells across the country, which will continue into Thursday for southern areas with light showers again likely further north, the forecaster said.

More changeable weather will bring rain at times throughout Friday, with temperatures still ‘recovering’ in the south to around average and still higher but more ‘subdued’ further north.

Highs of 24C could be seen in south-east England on Monday, Thursday and Friday with low twenties possible on the other days.

The average maximum temperature in June for the City of London is 21.3C.

The Met Office suggested there could be ‘a small chance that this could persist for several days, leading to a spell of hot weather’ beyond the weekend.

But it cautioned the picture is less clear beyond next week.

Across the north temperatures will reach the high teens throughout the week with peaks in isolated areas, with Edinburgh expected to see 20C on Friday.

Mr Claydon said: ‘It’s not unusual to have cooler interludes or cooler starts to some months but this was a below-average start to June for sure, and temperatures (are) starting to return back towards what people would expect for this time of year.’

Conditions will currently ‘remain fairly consistent’ heading into the weekend, with any showers on Saturday likely to be insignificant, the forecaster added.

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