The UK had its hottest day of the year on Thursday, and the autumnal heat wave that’s baking northwest Europe is set to continue through the weekend.
A temperature of 32.6C (91F) was recorded at Wisley in southeast England, beating highs in June, according to the Met Office forecaster. The mercury has topped 30C for five consecutive days, a UK record for the month of September.
After unseasonably cool weather in July and August, an active tropical-cyclone season is amplifying high pressure in the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK and drawing in warm air. The heat wave in Britain and across northern Europe is expected to subside from Tuesday next week.
In France, people have been warned to stay inside during the hottest hours of the day and to close shutters, curtains and even windows. That includes Paris, where temperatures may reach 34C on Sunday, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc. That’s more than 9C above the seasonal norm.
Globally, the boreal summer was the warmest on record by a large margin as searing heat swept across the Northern Hemisphere from China to California, according to observation agency Copernicus. Last month was the warmest August on record.
(Updates with summer heat record in final paragraph.)
