Temperatures hotter than those forecast for Ibiza are set to sweep London this Friday, bringing sunshine back to the capital after a largely grey couple of weeks.
The Met Office predicts temperatures will reach 30°C as London basks in the sun. This is hotter than Ibiza, which is expected to reach 28°C, and on par with Barcelona, which is also forecast to be 30°C on Friday.
This will be welcome news for many Londoners, following a cold and drizzly start to the summer and a week of rain and floods. The Met Office also says a “fine and dry” Wednesday should bring temperatures up to 26°C, which is “around average for this time of year.”
The capital is set to warm up throughout Wednesday and Thursday, peaking at 30°C on Friday, when forecasters say London will be “possibly feeling very warm.”
A cooler weekend is expected to follow, with highs of 25°C and potential showers on Saturday.
This comes after a soggy first seven months of the year, which has seen rain blamed for dampening economic performance and consumer spending.
The UK experienced its wettest spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record.
In the first week of July, several areas in the southeast of England, including London, saw 80% or more of the average expected rainfall for the entire month, according to Met Office data.
The recent damp weather has coincided with chilly conditions.
The Met Office reported that the average temperature for the first week of July was 12.9°C, which is 2.4°C below the month’s long-term average.
June also concluded with an average temperature below 13°C, despite a brief heatwave affecting parts of the country toward the end of the month.
From Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning this week, the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning as heavy rain swept across much of the country. Some areas experienced downpours of up to 40mm within a few hours, resulting in localized flooding.