UK weather set to be hotter than Barcelona, Venice and Istanbul in just days

02 October 2023 , 16:56

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Brits could be blocking to the beach in October (Image: PA)

Parts of the UK are set to be hotter than a number of popular holiday destinations this weekend as temperatures soar to heights of 26C.

Brits will bask in glorious sunshine this weekend, if forecasts are correct, as an 'Indian Summer' sweeps the country. While rain is expected across northwest Scotland, the rest of Britain will remain mostly dry, with south and southeastern areas seeing the best of the sunshine, according to the Met Office.

London could experience highs of 26C on Sunday with most areas forecast sun on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and even Monday. According to BBC Weather, a number of cities in Europe will be cooler than London and other areas of the UK on Sunday. Barcelona (25C), Venice (25C), Istanbul (24C), Crete (25C) and Nice (25C) are just some of the popular holiday destinations parts of Britain could be hotter than.

Jim Dale, a meteorologist for British Weather Services, believes temperatures will remain high across the UK until at least mid October. "I think we can fairly call this an Indian Summer incoming - it will be peaking this time next week, but it will still be pretty good to the halfway stage of October. About 25C tops next Sunday is my call," Mr Dale told Express.co.uk.

Glorious sunshine is forecast for parts of the UK this weekend (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

According to the Met Office an Indian summer is defined as "a warm, calm spell of weather occurring in autumn, especially in October and November". While temperatures are expected to drop a little at the start of next week, some areas can still expect sunshine with temperatures not dropping below 20C.

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The news of the mini-heatwave in October comes after it was announced last month was the UK’s joint warmest September on record. The average mean temperature across the country was 15.2C, equalling the previous record set in 2006, the Met Office said.

Met Office scientific manager Mark McCarthy said: “This September’s temperature records are heavily driven by how significantly warm the first half of the month was. Not only did September have the hottest day of the year – something that has only happened on four previous occasions in our observations – but it also had seven consecutive days where temperatures were above 30C somewhere in the UK, which had never happened in this month in Met Office observations.

“The significantly warm start to September was influenced by high pressure across Europe. This helped to draw warmer air over the UK at the start of the month. Once this pattern subsided, we had a more Atlantic influence, with periods of winds and rain, as well as Storm Agnes late in the month, yet often a south-westerly flow resulting in above average temperatures but also humid conditions and plenty of rain.”

Sam Truelove