(Bloomberg) — The UK is bracing for its first bout of hot weather this year, in a reminder of 2022’s sizzling summer that sparked fires near London and challenged the country’s energy and transportation networks.
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Temperatures will start to rise as soon as Friday and could hit 30C (86F) in parts of England this weekend while remaining elevated at night, the Met Office said in a statement. The agency has forecast a high of 27C in London on Saturday.
There’s also “an increase in the likelihood of some potentially heavy and thundery showers, which could bring some localized disruption in the far southwest,” said Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Harris.
Rain could be a welcome change following a weeks-long dry spell. However, European nations are mindful of last year’s historic drought and deadly heat wave, which shriveled rivers, triggered wildfires and halted transportation — contributing to volatility in energy and commodity prices.
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Record heat across Britain last summer led to fires across London and triggered warnings that railway lines could buckle and forced power stations to operate at low levels to prevent overheating. Temperatures at the time surpassed 40C.
Temperatures could reach 28C in both Paris and Berlin on Friday, and 27C in Amsterdam on Sunday, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies. Warm weather is also forecast for parts of Scandinavia next week, with Oslo seeing temperatures about 3C above normal by the middle of next week.
Separately, the UK’s Health Security Agency issued a heat-health yellow alert for parts of the country over the weekend, signaling risks for people over 65 and those with pre-existing conditions.
