Parts of the UK will be hotter than Ibiza and Athens today (May 1) as large areas of the country will bask in the sunshine with temperatures as high as 25C. Temperatures could reach 25C in London and East Anglia at the end of the working week, weather maps show, with “some very warm, humid air coming up from the south,” Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said.
“That means we will see some very warm weather, particularly in the east and the South East, because there we’ll see the best of the sunshine,” Partridge also said. This will make those areas hotter than Ibiza, where highs of 18C are forecast. In these areas of the UK, temperatures will reach 25C by 3pm, according to the latest forecast.
Today’s highs in London and the South East will be around 10C higher than averages for the time of year, which are 15 to 17C, the Met Office said.
Meanwhile, Cardiff could be warmer than Athens, where forecasters are predicting a high of 14C on Friday, which is 5C cooler than the estimated top temperatures in the Welsh capital.
The weather, however, remains changeable and forecasts also said clouds over the central spine of the UK, from Scotland, the Pennines and into the Midlands could produce some heavy rain on Friday.
Weather over the May Day weekend will be “a different story” though, with changeable conditions forecast across the UK.
“The weekend is a bit of a different story, really,” said Mr Partridge.
“There will be some bright spells in there as well on Saturday, but there will also be showers, particularly across northern and western parts of the UK.” Rain is forecast across the country on Sunday and temperatures will continue to cool towards averages for April.
“By the time we get to Monday, we’re actually going to see temperatures roughly where they should be for this time of year,” Mr Partridge said. “We’re looking at elevens and twelves (degrees Celsius) in the north and fifteens and sixteens in the south, so it will feel quite fresh and chilly compared to what we’ve had,” he added.