Scotland is set to miss the UK’s second heatwave of the summer, with temperatures north of the border unlikely to rise above 24C. The contrast will sharpen from the end of the week, when a marked north–south split develops and the warmest conditions shift farther south.
That matters now because people checking the weather in Glasgow and across Scotland are looking at a weekend forecast that still promises plenty of dry, bright spells but not the heatwave conditions building elsewhere in the UK. Steve Ramsdale said the pattern would turn sharply from the end of the week, while the wider forecast points to warmer, more humid air spreading into southern and eastern areas under high pressure over mainland Europe.
For Scotland, the outlook is gentler. Much of the country is still expected to stay warm and sunny over the weekend, but lower pressure to the north-west keeps the weather more changeable and limits the chance of any major heat. That means the hottest conditions are expected to sit well to the south, with temperatures in Scotland unlikely to come close to the levels seen in the parts of England most exposed to the heat.
The split is especially clear when set against the last spell of extreme summer weather. During the May heatwave, temperature records were repeatedly broken, with 35.1C measured at Kew Gardens and 32.9C at Cardiff’s Bute Park. In April, Kinloss reached 22.5C, the highest temperature recorded this year, which underlines how far Scotland is likely to stay from anything like a record-breaking surge this time.
That does not mean the weekend will feel cool everywhere. The forecast suggests cloud and fairly high humidity could make conditions feel rather oppressive at times, even where the sun breaks through. But the hot spell may not deliver the wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies seen during the May heatwave, and that is the key difference for Scotland: warmth, yes, but not the full heatwave experience.
The next confirmed stage is the weekend itself, when the contrast should be most obvious. Amber heat health alerts are in place from 12pm on Thursday until 8pm on Tuesday for the East, South East and South West of England, as well as London, while the Met Office says parts of southern and south-east England are likely to meet the heatwave threshold. There is also a 40% chance of topping the highest ever June temperature of 35.6C, leaving Scotland on the cooler side of a forecast that is becoming more extreme farther south.
