UK weather: Five old-school low-cost hacks to keep yourself cool as Met Office forecasts highs of 25°C

Temperatures are forecast to rise across the UK this week, with the Met Office forecasting some areas to reach 25°C.

On Wednesday (April 30), temperatures are expected to reach 22°C in Edinburgh and 21°C in Belfast.

David Oliver, Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, said: “Next week’s conditions are likely to fall just outside of official Met Office heatwave thresholds. However, this shouldn’t lead to any disappointment as many can anticipate a very fine spell of weather with temperatures reaching 27°C during the middle of the week.

“We are not expecting the April UK temperature record to be broken, but some locations may nudge local records.

“Often warm spells are driven by warmer air arriving from further south, but the origins of next week’s air are from Scandinavia and central Europe. This air mass will be warmed by compression as the high pressure begins to build, and this warmth will be boosted by daytime heating from the April sun.”

With a period of warm weather approaching, we’ve taken a look at the old-school hacks you can employ to keep yourself cool.

Andy Sims, Trade Advocacy Manager at MyBuilder, said: “You can shut your windows, that's the number one thing that you could be doing. Keeping your windows shut is blocking out that heat.

“If you're opening your windows sporadically throughout the day or leaving them open, you might get a nice breeze every now and then but actually you're allowing that heat to build up in your home and what we want to do is keep those windows shut and block it out.

“Creating shade is another one, so if you've got sun sails or awnings, you can get those up. Obviously, shutters over windows for example. You can also buy some relatively inexpensive film that goes over your windows which will keep the heat out and also you can get some kind of reflective finishes and things on those as well.”

Other tips include planning your day around the weather, for example exercising and cooking during the cooler times of the day.

Moving potted plants in front of windows can help block the sun.

A foot bath or placing a wet face cloth on your wrists, the back of your neck, can also cool you down.

To check the temperature for where you are, visit the Met Office’s UK weather map.