heatwave

Prof Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, reflects on a busy summer when weather and climate featured heavily in the media.

Sixty-two people have died and more than 54 injured in one of Portugal’s deadliest forest fires. Many of those who lost their life were trapped in cars as they tried to flee the central forested region of Pedrógão Grande, and it is feared the death toll may rise further.

It is thought that the blaze, which is raging in several parts of a mountainous area 200km northeast of Lisbon, may have been sparked by a lightning strike hitting a tree during a rainless thunderstorm on the night of 17th-18th June 2017, following an intense heatwave which saw temperatures exceeding 40degC.

Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-30°C's next week and while this is very hot weather for the UK, it's not technically a heatwave as theWeather Club explains.

Here in the UK, there is no official definition of a 'heatwave'. Instead, the definition comes from the World Meteorological Organisation who define a heatwave as "when the daily maximum temperature exceeds the average by 5°C for more than five consecutive days."