33C heatwave facing crushing end as winds bring 'typical September' weather

10 September 2023 , 17:14

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Beachgoers in Brighton on Saturday enjoy the unprecedented September hot spell (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

We may have enjoyed, or endured, Britain’s longest Indian summer but typical September is coming back with bang.

Sunday was the seventh day in a row that temperatures exceed 30C - the first time that’s happened since records began. Several monitoring sites in the south of England recorded temperatures of 30C or just above.

It comes as Saturday was provisionally named the hottest day of the year so far, with 33.2C recorded at Kew Gardens. But the heat will largely be centred on southern England, with many parts of the UK soon facing thundery downpours.

A yellow Met Office weather warning for thunderstorms was in place from 14:00 BST to 23:59 on Sunday. It covered areas including Northumberland and Aberdeenshire. The warning also covers Northern Ireland, northern parts of England and Wales as well as southern Scotland. Up to two inches of rain could fall leading to localised flooding.

However storms and cooler weather will hit much of the country by Thursday (Getty Images)

“Large hail and lightning are likely additional hazards”, the Met Office added. The record-breaking September heatwave is expected to give way through the early parts of this week, as cooler air from an Atlantic front reaches all areas of the UK.

Met Office says UK will be battered by monster rain storm with 4 inches falling

But even by Wednesday and Thursday temperatures could still be in the high-teens or early twenties. By the end of Thursday temperatures will have dropped further due to strong winds spreading from the north of the UK to the south.

By next weekend we will be heading towards more traditional September weather. Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change.

Last year the UK recorded temperatures above 40C for the first time. Scientists said that would have been “virtually impossible without climate change”. The world has already warmed by an average of 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

Stephen White