Britons may be in for some respite from the grim winter weather this weekend, with temperatures on set to be higher than popular tourist hotspots like Istanbul and Athens for parts of the UK.
Temperatures are set soar to 14C in Exeter this Saturday, followed by highs of 13C in areas such as London, Birmingham, Peterborough and Cardiff.
On Sunday, temperatures in the UK are set to be higher than Istanbul in Turkey where it will only be 5C, according to the Met Office. Meanwhile the UK will see highs of up to 13C. The heat may also match or surpass the temperatures in Athens on Sunday, where it is expected to be 12C.
Temperatures will jump 10 degrees higher than recent days days in some places – providing a much needed and welcome break from the cold wintry gloom experienced so far this year.
The Met Office have predicted conditions on Saturday to “be drier and brighter in the east” with weather being the “sunniest in Shetland”.
The national forecaster added that it will be “rather cloudy with rain or drizzle moving northeast” and that this would be “the heaviest over western hills”.
There will also be “windy conditions with strong gusts, but it will feel very mild throughout”.
Sunday is set to be brighter, but may have some blustery showers in the north, the Met Office predicts.
So far this year, the weather has been glum, with record-breaking floods and extended periods of rainfall in some parts of the UK.
This week also saw several yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in parts of the country, with as much as 15cm of snow predicted on Wednesday and Thursday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also issued a cold alert beginning at 6am on Friday which is likely to last until 8am on Monday.
Researchers at Newcastle University have warned that the UK’s turbulent weather is a result of climate change. They warn that UK winters are becoming “significantly wetter” and experiencing dramatic increase in flood risks due to rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Their data shows rainfall is increasing by almost 7 percent for every degree of global or regional warming.
