My Climate Change Garden

Forecasters predict 30C in London and South East today.

Britain is preparing itself for the hottest weather of the year, with tennis fans and players set for sweltering conditions at the Wimbledon finals.

The warm weather is expected to continue for between seven to 10 days, according to the Met Office as the current high pressure is the result of “the jet stream being where it’s supposed to be at this time of year. It’s over the north, between Scotland and Iceland. When it gets into that position it gives fine weather to the south of the country.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/05/britain-sweltering-weekend-temperatures-weather

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/04/heatwave-july-england-wales-forecasters

The last time the UK enjoyed a long spell of warm July weather was in 2006, when temperatures were above 28C in many areas for a fortnight.More recently, temperatures peaked at 30.7C between 23 to 26 July last year.The previous highest temperature of the year was 27C (80F) on 30 June but recent years have seen Britons endure wet and overcast summers due to the jet stream moving south.

The dash for outdoor living is good news for garden centres still recovering from a chilly Easter, which is usually their biggest time of the year. “In the past six weeks, trade has generally been a lot better than the same period last year,” said Peter Burks, chairman of the Garden Centre Association. “Most garden centres are coming back towards parity with 2012 now.”

He said that sales were better than expected as gardeners were buying shrubs and other larger plants later into the season because they had been slow to flower after the miserable spring. In the last 10 days, sales of garden furniture have doubled at some centres, as gardeners prepare to sit back and enjoy their work.

“I would love it to be a warm summer, but we don’t want temperatures into the 30s, as that would really put everybody off doing their gardening,” said Burks.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/06/heatwave-britain-shopping-essentials

To celebrate the arrival of the great British summer the Met Office launched a new online service providing inspiration on how to enjoy the wonderful warm weather that Brits have not seen for many years. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/get-ready-for-summer