UK weather: Britain is HOTTER than holiday hotspots including Rome and Morocco

Parts of Britain will be hotter than Rome, Ibiza and even Morocco during the first week of astronomical spring as the country enjoys a full seven days of sunshine and temperatures soaring to 20C (68F).

The Met Office has forecast dry, sunny weather across the UK today with daytime temperatures in the mid to late teens for the coming week, following a beautiful start to the new season on Sunday.

Southern areas including parts of London and Cambridge are set to enjoy the best of the warm conditions, and forecasters have advised anyone spending long periods outdoors to wear sunscreen.

London is set to see 19C (66F) today, while 16C (61F) is predicted in Cardiff, 15C (59F) in Belfast and 13C (55F) in Edinburgh. This compares to 18C (64F) in Marrakesh, 16C (61F) in Rome, 15C (59F) in Ibiza and 13C (55F) in Madrid.

Temperatures of 19C (66F) are also expected in the South East both tomorrow and on Thursday, with the mercury then dropping slightly towards the end of the week but still at 17C (63F) on Friday and 18C (64F) on Saturday. 

The UK’s warmest day of 2022 so far was Sunday when the mercury hit 20.2C (68.4F) at Kinlochewe in Scotland, and Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said Britons will enjoy a further ‘seven days’ of sunshine ‘at least’.

He said: ‘There will be more spring sunshine to come during the rest of the week. High pressure close to the east then becomes increasingly centred over the UK from Wednesday into Thursday and Friday. 

‘That high pressure isn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable. For the next seven days at least it’s going to bring plenty of warm sunshine.’

He added that ‘variable amounts of cloud’ will move across parts of northern England, the Midlands and southern Scotland today bringing ‘a few lights showers’, but most of the day will be dry and sunny. 

Cold nights are forecast to follow balmy days with the mercury dropping to single figures in most areas, and to just below freezing overnight in some rural areas.

Met Office spokesman Richard Miles said ‘lots of places’ will see temperatures in the high teens on Tuesday. 

He said that while these temperatures are above average, they are not that unusual for this time of year.

The temperatures are some way off the highest UK March temperature which was 25.6C (78.1F) recorded in Cambridgeshire on March 29, 1968. 

Mr Miles said he would be surprised if that record was broken this month.

The highest temperature recorded in Britain yesterday was 17.7C (63.9F) at Bude in Cornwall. 

Describing the current weather pattern, Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth added: ‘We have a significant area of high pressure sitting over Scandinavia, which is big enough to be blocking the jet stream.

‘Because of its position, we are receiving warmer air pulled up from the south and south east. It is due to stay settled, dry and with prolonged sunshine.’