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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Will Hayward

Exactly when the heatwave will end in Wales

When will the heatwave end in Wales? That is the question many of us are now asking.

With Wales being baked in sweltering temperatures for four days in a row the weather is starting to get irksome. This is especially the case as high night-time temperatures make it hard to get to sleep.

So when will we get some relief from the seemingly relentless weather and when will the heat wave end? Let's take a look.

Read more: The Met Office weather warnings in place for Wales covering four days

What is a heatwave?

A heatwave is an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity. A UK heatwave threshold is met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold. The threshold varies by UK county because temperatures vary across the UK.

The Met Office heatwave threshold has been updated ahead of summer 2022. The initial heatwave thresholds were calculated based on the 1981-2010 climatology of daily maximum temperature at the mid-point of the meteorological summer. The revised thresholds use the 1991-2020 averaging period introduced in January 2022.

The map below shows how climate change has pushed up those temperatures. It also shows how in the south east of Wales the threshold for a heat wave is higher. For example in Cardiff and Newport the temperature needs to be above 26C for three days where as in most of Wales it is 25C.

Maps showing the the criteria for a heatwave have changed over the years and how they vary for different parts of the UK (Met Office/ Crown copyright)

When will it end?

For the whole of Wales it is likely that the heatwave will end on Monday, August 15, as we will only be seeing temperatures in the low 20s. Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud told WalesOnline the temperature will not be dropping quickly though. He said: "The ground is acting like a storage radiator at the moment so it's going to take a long time for those temperatures to come down into next week. And we've got an increasing chance of some heavy thundery showers as we move into Monday and Tuesday." The Met Office have now issued two weather warnings for thunderstorms in Wales on Monday and Tuesday which will hopefully bring some relief from the heat as well as some much-needed rain.

Will we have another heatwave this year?

According to Dan this is likely to be the last time we see this brutal level of heat this year. He said: "Next week it is going to be a lot less settled with sunshine and frequent showers. But there is still the chance of some further periods of dry and settled weather throughout towards the of end of August and we could see temperatures actually again sort of creep up. But the deeper we get into August and the closer we get to September the less likely the more extreme of those temperatures that we've been seeing over recent recent weeks are."

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