The heatwave is set to make the UK hotter than Jamaica

Temperatures are set to soar by the end of the week

Temperatures are set to hit the mid-30s this week as the Met Office warns Britons to prepare for the “first properly hot summer’s day” of the year. 

“There’s not been much in the way of exceptionally warm days or hot days yet this year, but that is set to change,” said Steven Keates from the Met Office. 

“We’re set to see probably a brief spell of hot weather at the end of this coming week.”

The weather forecaster went on to warn Britons to prepare for further sweltering weather conditions in the coming months due to climate change.

It was reported that CO2 levels were the highest they have ever been last week, with monthly average carbon dioxide levels reaching above 420 parts per million (ppm) for the first time on record.

As a result many European countries like Spain and France reported record June temperatures this week, with thermostats in Madrid reaching 40 degrees, resulting in long queues for water around the city.

Experts warn that temperatures in London will exceed those in Portugal, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Greece this weekend, hitting the mid 30s, while in Manchester it is forecast to reach 25C, 21C in Edinburgh and 22C in Belfast. 

These would herald the hottest days of the year so far, with the previous warmest temperature being recorded as 27.5C at Heathrow airport on 17 May. 

The Met Office defines a heatwave as three consecutive days with daily temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave threshold. The UK’s official heatwave threshold has been raised in recent years in response to year-on-year temperature rises as a result of climate change. 

In northern Africa and the Middle East temperatures are expected to reach 50C during the peak of summer. The city of Al Jahra in Kuwait already recorded this temperature on 4 June, far earlier than is usual.

More CO2 accelerates planetary warming by storing more heat in the atmosphere than the planet is able to diffuse. So the more carbon in the atmosphere the hotter the planet. 

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading authority on the climate crisis, reported that carbon dioxide from fossil fuel and industry makes up 64 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. 

Meanwhile methane, produced by cows, is a gas more than 20 times as strong as CO2 and reached record highs this year. 

We will continue to update this story.