For the first time in days, Liverpool will be largely cloudy with the potential for showery outbreaks of rain this morning. The region has been scorched this week with temperatures exceeding 30°C as part of a UK-wide heatwave. The hot weather peaked in Liverpool on Thursday, and since then temperatures have gradually decreased. The Met Office said the weather today, Sunday, will see a maximum temperature around 21°C.
Sunday's Forecast: Cloudy Start, Brighter Later
The forecaster said: "Cloudy at first in the morning with a few showery outbreaks of rain. Turning drier through the day with increasing amounts of sunshine. Feeling much fresher than recent days. Rather breezy particularly across high ground." As we move into the evening, the weather is expected to be dry and sunny. The Met Office said overnight will be clear but much cooler than recent sweltering nights. The minimum temperature overnight will be 8°C.
Heatwave Impact on Merseyside
Merseyside this week has seen unprecedented temperatures reaching around 33°C. Liverpool John Lennon Airport issued travel advice to passengers, while train passengers were urged to avoid non-essential travel. The Mersey Ferries explorer cruises were also cancelled due to "technical issues." More than a thousand schools in England and Wales either fully or partially closed due to the blistering heat, while others changed uniform policy to allow students to wear PE kit.
Record-Breaking June Heat Across the UK
Friday was confirmed by the Met Office as the UK’s hottest June day on record, with a provisional temperature of 37.3°C recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk, surpassing the high of 36.7°C recorded in Merryfield, Somerset, on Thursday. These smashed the long-standing record for June heat, which dates back to the summer of 1976, by more than 1°C, which is significant given such records were usually broken only by a fraction of a degree in the past.
Climate Change and Extreme Heat
Scientists warned that the heatwave would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago, with human-driven climate change fuelling more intense and frequent extreme heat events. The Met Office said the third consecutive day of June’s record-breaking temperatures came as parts of the UK were transitioning to more of a westerly influence, bringing the risk of thunderstorms. A drop in temperatures will develop in the west at first, with these fresher conditions spreading slowly further east over the course of the weekend.
Outlook for Next Week
The Met Office said next week will bring a mixed picture for the UK’s weather, with a combination of cloudy and sunny spells, as well as influxes of rain from the west at times. The heatwave was driven by a "heat-dome" – an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat – settling over western Europe and bringing extreme conditions across the continent. This has been compounded by human-driven climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels, which is making such extreme heatwaves more frequent and intense.
