While much of southern Europe is facing dangerously high temperatures, the UK seems to be going through a much cooler phase – leaving plenty of Brits scratching their heads.
The Met Office has forecast a pretty gloomy few days for the UK, with temperatures hoovering around 20C in most areas – a stark contrast to the record-breaking 40C we experienced this time last year.
In fact, sunshine and showers are expected for the rest of the week, with a wet and windy Saturday ahead (remember 2022′s drought?).
This is a pretty different reality compared to the soaring temperatures southern Europe is currently facing, where the Charon heatwave is following hot on the heels of last week’s Cerberus weather.
On Wednesday, temperatures are expected to reach as high as 48C in Tunisia and the Italian island of Sardinia, while southern Spain faces 45C and Greece expects to see 42C.
Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon told The Mirror: “The European heat isn’t expected to have any direct impact on the UK in the current forecast period.”
He explained this was all down to the southern shift of the jet stream – that’s a set of winds high in our atmosphere which has a huge impact on the weather we receive.
At the moment, it’s maintaining high pressure across southern Europe and northern Africa, which is why temperatures are so high.
And it’s not just across this region either; extreme heat is currently being felt in southern parts of the US, the Middle East and Central Asia.
As The Met Office explained on Twitter: “Atmospheric conditions are allowing persistent strong areas of high pressure to become established. These intensify the heat and without a change in the jet stream, can persist for weeks.”
There is currently an Atlantic influence on UK weather, which is why the pressure system over the UK is so low in contrast to the rest of the continent’s.
That’s also why it feels so unstable, with regular shifts into rain and wind in between spells of sun.
Europe’s heatwave will eventually move southeast in the coming week – which means the UK won’t face a similar heatwave anytime soon.
In fact, we aren’t likely to experience an increase in heat until mid-August – so it seems like a classic British summer really is having a 2023 renaissance.