Scotland is headed for a heatwave, with the mercury set to rise from Tuesday onwards.
Sweltering temperatures are set to dominate across large parts of the country, with warm sunshine and humid conditions particularly prevalent in the Central Belt.
The Met Office defines a heatwave in Scotland as three consecutive days where the temperature is above 25C.
There's a heatwave on the way for some parts of Scotland, starting tomorrow. Christopher has the latest. pic.twitter.com/zWQxcy4JSP
— BBC Scotland Weather (@BBCScotWeather) June 22, 2026
The warm weather is predicted to last at least until Friday, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday likely to see temperatures above the heatwave threshold.
Thermometers could even spike at 30C in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway on Thursday.
BBC Weather forecaster Christopher Blanchett said: “There is a heatwave on the way. The threshold in Scotland is if we reach 25 degrees or more for three days running in the same spot — and we’ll do that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”
Tuesday could see temperatures of 25C across much of Scotland, except the far north. Wednesday is expected to follow a similar pattern, with heat continuing to build and temperatures forecast to reach 27C in the south of Scotland.
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Thursday is expected to be the hottest day of the week, with high humidity and the possibility of thundery showers in some areas.
The warm weather comes amid even more extreme forecasts for England and Wales, where a red weather warning is in place for later in the week.
Schools across parts of the country are closing, and transport bosses have warned people to avoid all but essential travel amid rare red warnings over extreme temperatures expected to hit record highs for June.
A “heat dome” settling over western Europe could bring temperatures of up to 40C in some areas south of the border in the middle of the week, the Met Office has said.
Temperatures during this heatwave are likely to surpass the June record set in Hampshire in 1976 by several degrees and could come close to the UK’s all-time high of 40.3C, recorded in July 2022.
The hot conditions, which have previously been rare in the UK, will be accompanied by high humidity and very warm nights, making it difficult for people to recover overnight, the forecaster warned.
A red weather warning for extreme heat, covering an area stretching from London to Swansea and from Somerset to Birmingham, has been issued by the Met Office from 9am on Wednesday to 9pm on Thursday.
These warnings are reserved for the most severe events, the Met Office said, meaning this heatwave is expected to bring “severe and significant impacts”, including widespread health risks for many people — not just those who are typically more vulnerable to the heat — and even danger to life.
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