Parts of UK to get break in heatwave but dry spell to continue

Cooler temperatures are on the way for some parts of the UK after a first half of summer dominated by warm, sunny and largely dry weather.

Parts of England have experienced more than two weeks of heatwave conditions, and some central areas have had the longest dry spell since 1997.

But the third heatwave of 2026 is now easing as northerly winds introduce some fresher air - although most places still won't have any significant rainfall.

The slightly cooler spell may be very brief for some parts of southern England and south Wales, where we could see heatwave criteria being reached again later this week.

High pressure will be slow-moving in the Atlantic to the west of us over the coming days.

As winds rotate in a clockwise direction around high pressure, this will result in a northerly airflow pushing across the UK.

The areas most exposed to this northerly wind will be northern and eastern Scotland, as well as eastern England.

In these regions, temperatures will be around 5C cooler compared to last week.

Some places further south and west, however, will see less of a drop in temperature.

Bournemouth, for example, has already had 15 days of temperatures above its heatwave criteria of 26C, and it is possible this run of heatwave days may continue for at least another full week.

As well as the prolonged heat, this summer has also been exceptionally dry for many places.

Rainfall patterns have varied considerably across the UK, but the driest regions have been eastern and north-eastern parts of England which have received only around half their expected rainfall by this stage of the summer.

Wisley in Surrey has now experienced 31 dry days, and for a large area of central England, it has been the longest dry spell in 30 years.

With high pressure set to dominate the weather over the next week, there will be very little rainfall if any in many places.

The wettest places are likely to be in north-west Scotland, where frontal systems may bring up to 30mm (1.18in) of rain through the week.

There could also be a few showers elsewhere, mainly close to coasts, but it is likely many inland areas could have at least five more completely dry days.

Scientists are confident human-induced warming is making heatwaves more frequent and more intense.

In the latest State of the UK Climate report, external, the Met Office says weather that used to be classed as extreme is becoming the "new normal".

It says the climate we used to know in the 20th Century is now a thing of the past, with the UK warming approximately 0.25C per decade since the 1980s.