The prospect of a long, hot summer in the UK was raised yesterday with the Met Office predicting that June, July and August will see unusually high temperatures.
While operators of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions across the UK would no doubt welcome a spell of hot weather – many resorts suffered badly in last year’s less than perfect summer – the Government has been moved to publish a leaflet warning of the dangers of hot weather.
More than 2,000 extra people are believed to have died during the heatwave of 2003. The Daily Mail quotes the Met Office as saying that the forecast was made using “satellite projections and statistical calculations”.
But why the Government – and the UK’s media, for that matter – have made so much of the story remains a mystery.
Forecasts for the May-day bank holiday proved wildly inaccurate, and today’s forecast struggles to predict what the weather will be like on Saturday – just 48 hours away.
Forecaster Andy Yeatman admits in the Mail: “It looks like there will be higher than average temperatures during this period, though it is difficult to say by how much or when.”
Don’t plan too many barbecues, then …
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd www.newsfromabroad.com
