How long heatwave is set to last as UK could hit highest temperature of year this week
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The UK is having a last minute burst of hot weather to end the summer, much to the annoyance of everyone everywhere who has endured rain and clouds for three months.
Temperatures all over the UK could surge to 32°C this week, Sky News reports.
Excuse us, but where was this energy all summer?!
Parts of the Mediterranean are also experiencing what is known as a 'heat dome'.
A heat dome can be briefly defined as an area of high pressure that stays in the same area for days or weeks.
Hot air is the left trapped, pushing temperatures above what is expected for this time of year.
The heated air expands upwards, then comes the high pressure from above, meaning it can't escape and causes the air to subside, which leads to more heat being kept in, the Royal Meteorological Society say.
The Met Office has also said that heat domes encourage temperatures to keep building, but Dr Chris England, a Sky Weather meteorologist, suggests that the phenomenon doesn't really apply to the weather the UK is facing at the moment.
He said although the heat dome 'has been relevant to some of the Mediterranean heat...it is well to the east'.
Adding: "Instead, the flow around the high pressure is generally from the south over the UK, bringing heat up from the Mediterranean and north Africa."
But does this mean that the UK is set for a heatwave or not - and if we are, how long could it last?
Well, a heatwave is a generally loose term, meaning any time when the weather has held daily maximum temperatures for three consecutive days, the Met Office says.
And the most confusing bit?
The temperatures that constitute a heatwave are different in every county of the UK.
Kirsty McCabe, a Sky Weather forecaster, said official heatwave conditions will be met this week, particularly in southern parts of the UK, as 'temperatures soar over the next few days with a late blast of summer heat'.
Wednesday and Thursday have been predicted to be the peak, with temperatures of 31°C or 32°C being likely - which exceeds for the highest temperature of this year.
According to the Met Office's five day prediction, forecasts suggest that the temperatures will be stable for the rest of the week, with the UK set to face 'mostly dry and settled with some very warm sunshine'.
That's what we like to hear!
However, temperatures are expected to remain high into the weekend for much of England and Wales, according to the Met Offices' official press release.
Last year, the UK broke records for its summer temperatures, with 19 July reaching above 40 degrees for the first time ever.
