The UK will be hit by a ten-day spring heatwave as the nation could be just hours away from a full lockdown due to coronavirus.
Forecasters have predicted a ‘mini heatwave’ as temperatures climb to a barmy 15C (59F) before the middle of this week and a 500-mile plume of warm air is swept up from the Mediterranean.
The warmer weather come as the UK public is urged to stay indoors and only head out for ‘essential’ items and travel due to the disease outbreak.
Parks remained empty across Britain today despite the sunshine and warmer temperatures. Above is Windsor riverside gardens and children’s play area. Britons have been told to avoid non-essential travel and stand at least two metres apart
A three-day forecast shows sunshine creeping up from the south of the UK to also cover the northern areas. Scotland will remain mostly under clouds
Empty ferris wheels at Windsor riverside gardens today. The MET Office said we could expect warm weather up to April
St Paul’s cathedral, London, pictured bathed in sunlight this morning. London has largely emptied in its centre due to concerns over coronavirus
The pier for boat trips also remained empty at the riverside park in Windsor today. Temperatures could cool from the middle of this week
A MET Office forecaster told MailOnline that the UK should look forward to ‘dry and sunny’ conditions but colder nights.
‘We’re in for a dry and sunny spell,’ she said. ‘There’s some rain in the north-west of Scotland that we have a yellow warning for, and low pressure over Iceland that is influencing the area.
‘But high pressure will bring a settled dry period to most of the UK that should last until the start of April with sunny spells but also colder nights because you’ve got clearer skies. The wind will also be a bit chilly.’
She added that the warm temperatures are due to wind sweeping up from the Mediterranean area.
The Weather Outlook’s forecaster Brian Gaze said temperatures will climb above 15C and 16C on Tuesday and Wednesday, and that Britons should expect lots of pleasant sunshine.
‘Nights are still going to be chilly though,’ he warned, ‘but the afternoon will be pleasantly warm’.
He said the weather would turn, however, by the second half of the week as a high pressure system above the west of the UK pulls in frozen air from the Arctic.
‘As we reach the weekend, it looks like that air will push outwards across the entire country,’ he said.
‘Nighttime temperatures will drop to -4C (24.8F) in the southern half of the UK, and it also looks like if colder or sweeps down there will be a lot of sunshine but also showers.
‘These will form into sleet or snow over Scotland. Later on this weekend we could even see some showers in southern England.’
City Hall and Tower Bridge in London pictured bathed in sunlight. But the walkways in front are largely empty due to fears over coronavirus
Flower stall at London Bridge station. Many commuters are absent due to coronavirus
Ferris wheels remained shuttered at an attractions park in Windsor today as everyone was ordered to stay at home
The boules area at Windsor park was also deserted. People have been told to stand two metres apart due to coronavirus
Weathertrending and former MET office presenter John Hammond said Britain’s had plenty of ‘fine and sunny’ weather to look forward to.
‘It’ll be spring by day and winter by night,’ he said as he gave the forecast for this week.
‘On Monday the vast majority of us, after a very cold start, will see plenty more spring sunshine and with the wind having less of an edge to it than it had at the weekend, it will feel quite comfortable.
‘Temperatures in many places will be getting up into double figures.’
The Met Office was predicting mostly dry conditions for the next 10 days as a 500 mile-wide warm air blows from Portugal to the UK with highs climbing to 4C (39.2F) above average by Wednesday.
The barmy weather comes possibly days before Britain is put into lockdown, as the government steps up efforts to control the coronavirus.
Thousands headed to Britain’s parks, beaches and holiday spots yesterday to enjoy the mother’s day sunshine, despite calls from the government to stay at least two metres away from each other.
The Jubilee fountain, Windsor, was not surrounded as most Britons chose to heed government advice and stay home
The Bamburgh lighthouse at stag Rock, Northumberland, pictured with views of the Milky Way early this morning. Clearer skies are also predicted for the rest of this month, which will cause night temperatures to plunge
Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded to the inappropriate gatherings in his daily coronavirus news conference. He warned: ‘I don’t think you need to use your imagination very much to see where we might have to go, and we will think about this very very actively in the next 24 hours.’
Although there was no ban on going outdoors for fresh air, Mr Johnson told Brits to stay at home as much as possible.
‘It is a really simple rule and incredibly important, because to protect life and the NHS we need to stop the spread of this virus and the Sky News.