Britain to be hit with Pacific ‘El Niño’ summer as heatwave in weeks

The UK is set to be swept with a scorching “El Niño” summer, experts have predicted. While the summer months are unlikely to come with the same record-breaking heat we saw last year, Brits should still be prepared for a summer of sun.

Last year saw British temperatures soaring up to more than 40C, breaking records. 

While this summer may not match that level, it’s still set to be very warm. 

The meteorology team from The Weather Channel told the Daily Star: “The last few years have been in La Nina conditions with last year seeing particularly hot conditions with record breaking temperatures.

“This year, we are moving out of La Niña and transitioning quickly to El Niño”.

The El Niño phenomenon refers to when warmer temperatures in the Pacific Ocean have a world-wide knock-on effect.

The experts said there is “little difference” between El Niño and La Niña.

However, the former is less likely to bring about the same extreme heat and dryness.

They added: “Secondly, research has shown that summers following sudden stratospheric warming events have been drier and warmer across northern Europe. This could suggest that we could see another warm/hot summer across Europe.

“However looking back, previous beginnings to El Niño conditions (2009 & 2015 in particular) show cooler summers in comparison to other summers. In addition, the faster and stronger the transition, it seems the cooler the summer was.”

But Brits can also expect a taste of the summer early, with a “soft heatwave” predicted for just a few weeks’ time.

Jim Dale from British Weather Services predicted weather could reach temperatures in the low twenties.

He said: “I can’t be overly detailed at the moment, but the signs are there for this kind of change.

“It’s when you see the charts going in that direction. The only thing we have to work with is unpredictability – but it is certainly going that way at the moment.”

His prediction is supported by the Met Office’s own long-range weather forecast, which predicts above average temperatures for the period May 7 to May 21.

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