There wasn’t much in the way of sustained sunshine for the UK this summer, even though globally it was the hottest on record.
If you were hoping September could let us bask in a leisurely mild end to the school holidays, though, it’s time to burst the bubble.
The week ahead is set to bring unsettled weather with showers and long spells of rain, after a thunderstorm so violent some feared to go near their windows in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Forecasters at the Met Office say it will soon ‘be feeling much cooler with an autumnal chill on its way, often accompanied by brisk northwesterly winds’.
So it’s time to dig your scarves, gloves, and winter coats out of storage and get ready to put the heating on again.
By Wednesday, the maximum temperature in the south will be 16°C, while further north it goes as low as 12°C.
This compares to maximum temperatures of 21°C on Sunday, so is at least a five degree fall which will bring the temperature to below average for this time of year.
The Met Office forecast from Tuesday to Thursday says there will be an ‘unsettled week ahead with showers and longer spells of rain.
‘It will be feeling much cooler with an autumnal chill on its way, often accompanied by brisk northwesterly winds.’
This will be the first chill of the season, and could see people switching on their heating for the first time since summer.
Many will welcome a respite from sweaty nights, but with the ongoing controversy of pensioners losing the universal right to winter fuel payments, cold weather could lead to anxiety for some who are unsure if they can afford to keep warm.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News yesterday he is not ‘remotely happy’ about voting to cut the winter fuel allowance, but argued it is essential to balance public finances.
He said: ‘I think it is a tough choice, and we’ve had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it.
‘I’m not remotely happy about it, and I’m not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, I’m sorry that I’m going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you.’
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the plan to limit the winter fuel allowance in July, as she said there was a need to fill a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances left by the previous government, a claim the Tories have challenged.
The change means that only those who claim pension credit and other means-tested benefits will receive the additional fuel payments.
A vote on limiting the winter fuel payment comes to the Commons tomorrow.
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