Heatwave to be confirmed as temperatures expected to surge to 33°C ...Middle East

Temperatures could reach as high as 33°C on Saturday in what would be the hottest day of the year.

In what would be the third day of temperatures above 30°C – officially classified as a heatwave – large parts of the south and the Midlands will temperatures between 31-33°C.

Parts of northern England will also see high temperatures, reaching a high of 29°C, although a yellow thunderstorm warning has also been issued.

The warning covers the Scottish Borders and Wales as well as the north west and north east of England.

Ellie Glaisyer, meteorologist at the Met Office, told The i Paper: “Temperature will hit a maximum of 32, perhaps 33 today.

“Two days ago, we did get to 32.3 degrees at Kew Gardens and Heathrow which was the warmest day of the year so far.

Showers drifting northwards this afternoon could bring occasional rumbles of thunderFeeling hot in the hazy sunshine around these pic.twitter.com/2TdDlgIqIL

“But if we get 33 today, that would break that. It is all dependent on how much cloud we see across south east England as we get towards this afternoon.

“There is still a very small chance we might get to 34, but I think 32 or 33 degrees is more likely. I wouldn’t rule out 34, but it very much depends on cloud.

“We could still reach the warmest day of the year so far today or we could get very close to it if we don’t quite reach above that 32.2 value that we saw two days ago.”

Amber health alert

Saturday marks the summer solstice – the longest day of the year – and people across the UK have been celebrating at sites such as Stonehenge.

An amber heat health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the first time since September 2023, is currently in force across England.

Yellow weather warning UPDATED Thunderstorms across parts of northern England and Wales, plus southeast ScotlandSaturday 1700 – Sunday 0300Latest info t.co/QwDLMfS950Stay #WeatherAware t.co/D6iB9RTPKb pic.twitter.com/s0Y6gAsjUC

However, Ms Glaisyer says some parts of the country will be at risk of thunderstorms. “We are going to see a risk of showers and some thunderstorms for the rest of the afternoon, particularly across south west England, parts of Wales and just going into north west England as well,” she said.

“Those showers will continue to move north eastwards as we go through the rest of the afternoon.

“There could be some heavy downpours, there could be the odd rumble of thunder, but the greatest risk of the heaviest and perhaps most thundery showers is going to be through this evening period across northern parts of England .

“We have got a yellow weather warning out which starts at 5pm and goes through until 3am covering the very far north east of Wales, northern parts of England and then into the very far southeast of Scotland as well.”

She also warned there could be 30 to 40mms of rain in up to two hours, leading to some surface water, as well as a risk of strong gusty winds, with gusts of 40, 45, even up to 50 mph on top of hail, lightning and rainfall.

She said: “As is the nature of thunderstorms, not everywhere in that warning will see a thunderstorm and not everywhere in that warning will see a heavy shower, but if you do see one, it could lead to a few impacts.

“As we go through the rest of this afternoon and evening, there will still be some showers around but across parts of Scotland, it will generally be a dry day with plenty of sunny spells.

People gather at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, during sunrise on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Picture Saturday June 21, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Zhanna Manukyan/PA Wire

“As we go in tomorrow, it’s more a day of sunny spells with showers for much of the country with the south east getting the driest conditions.

“They will still be holding on to some of the warmer temperatures – 28, 29 or even 30 degrees.

“But elsewhere it is going to feel a lot fresher than it has felt recently with some brisk westerly winds, some sunny spells and some showers.

“It will feel quite different tomorrow from the past couple of days.”

What is a heatwave?

The Met Office defines a heatwave as at least three consecutive days of temperatures above what would normally be expected for that time of the year. The threshold is different for each county, depending on where they are in the country, and it is usually accompanied by high humidity.

In London, temperatures must breach 28ºC for three days in a row for there to be a heatwave, while in the East Riding of Yorkshire, temperatures need to remain above 26ºC.

Generally speaking, the threshold is higher in the south-east, with the minimum value being 25ºC in parts of Wales, the Midlands and the South West.

While heatwaves are most common in the summer, which sees slow-moving, high-pressure systems remain over an area for an extended period of time, they can also occur in other seasons.

Because the UK is centred below a jet stream, high pressure can often develop over it, resulting in persistent dry and settled weather.

Drought fears

Elsewhere, there have been drought fears amid the period of sustained dry weather.

Yorkshire became the second region to a declare drought earlier this month after officials in the North West of England did so at the end of May following the driest spring since 1893.

Experts have told The i Paper that the UK is currently in a similar position as it was at this point in 2022, when six water companies introduced hosepipe bans in July, affecting 20 million people.

Parts of Wales could come under a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks as Welsh Water declared a “drought developing zone” due to dry weather.

While not declaring a drought, officials in Scotland have also warned of low water levels.

Claire Tunaley, senior hydrologist, at the water resources unit at the Scottish environmental protection agency: “It won’t take a heatwave for river levels to fall again.

“With summer only just beginning, and rainfall in the east still well below average, conditions could deteriorate quickly.

“Rivers entered summer already stressed after months of below average rainfall, and the kind of brief periods of rain we can get over the summer often don’t soak in properly or evenly enough to reverse that.

“Less water in rivers means warmer temperatures, lower oxygen, and shrinking channels, all of which increase pressure on fish, aquatic life, and habitats.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Heatwave to be confirmed as temperatures expected to surge to 33°C )

Also on site :

• 'Hissing door mid-air': AI flight to Hong Kong spooks flyers; crew use napkins to 'fix' issue
• Prabowo hails BRICS entry, reaffirms Indonesia’s non-aligned stance
• Israel-Iran war stretches into a second week without diplomatic breakthrough