Weather tracker: Saharan heat to send temperatures soaring across Europe | Czechia
While heat wave conditions are occurring in large parts of the continent, hot weather is expected across Europe this week.
A mass of warm air from the Sahara settled over the Iberian peninsula and spread across southern and western France, pushing temperatures largely into the low to mid-30s Celsius.
Warm weather is expected to spread north-east across Europe by mid-week, with maximum temperatures expected to reach the mid-30s on Friday in many countries including Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. Depending on location, these values are 9-13C above the 1991-2020 climate average.
The UK is unlikely to escape the heat completely. Forecast models show that occasional warm clouds could move northwards from the continent on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures rising to the mid-20s in southern and eastern England.
Temperatures of up to five consecutive days in the mid-30s — meeting the definition of a heat wave in some areas — are expected to ease early next week for most.
Europe is not the only region experiencing above-average temperatures; Parts of Australia are expected to continue their mild start to winter. A slow-moving low pressure system south of South Australia is expected to pull in warm northern air and bring harsh conditions across the eastern half of the country.
Temperatures in Melbourne are expected to reach peaks of 3-4 degrees Celsius above average on Tuesday and Wednesday. Night temperatures are expected to show a similar deviation from normal, approaching the mid-teens, generally 5-6C above average.
While these conditions are not considered extreme, they are expected to remain a recurring feature of the Australian winter. The National Bureau of Meteorology has linked this pattern to the development of El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean, which often bring above-average daytime temperatures to much of the country.
