Britons are getting ready for their first taste of summer today, as thousands are set to break out their barbeques for the first time under 75F sunshine since lockdown easing first began.
Boris Johnson this week gave the green light for two households to merge into ‘support bubbles’ from today, meaning they can interact indoors and outdoors at less than two metres apart.
The new social bubble rules, which allow couples who have lived apart during lockdown to spend the night together, only permits for one household to contain just one adult.
It also means that older people living alone will be able to go and stay with their children, or have their grandchildren to stay at their own homes to help with childcare.
Britons finally able to reunite with loved ones this weekend may well be firing up the barbecue for the occasion, with the UK set to enjoy 79F (26C) temperatures, making it hotter than Benidorm.
Thousands flocked to Britain’s beaches, parks and beauty spots during the hottest May on record, with global temperatures 1.13F (0.63C) above average, according to the EU’s climate change monitor.
People are now itching to get outside and socialise with friends and family after being confined to their homes except for daily exercise and shopping since the ‘stay at home’ order was given on March 23.
The return of warm and sunny weather is likely to see many once again make a beeline for the coast, with beaches having been packed with visitors even before the PM eased lockdown restrictions.
People packed the beach at Bournemouth on the last day of real sunshine on June 2, despite warnings to obey lockdown rules
Today, parts of the South and South East are expected to be sunny, while the sunshine spreads up to Scotland tomorrow
The reunion of loved ones from different households may see many take advantage by having a barbecue, as a group on Southsea Common, Hampshire, were pictured doing on May 30
People sunbathed on a sunny day in London’s Hampstead Heath on June 2, and are expected to do the same this weekend
However, Britain will face another wet start to the weekend, with rain expected to continue into Saturday.
Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey told MailOnline: ‘We are looking at a showery picture for tomorrow, including heavy thunder in some areas and rain particularly in the east, north and south-west.
‘There is a chancy of sunny spells in between showers, but it’s a fairly changeable, unsettled picture as we go through the weekend and into next week.
‘Temperatures will pick up, though, and it could feel humid and close if you are under a cloud.’
During the spells of sunshine tomorrow, the mercury could rise to as high as 79F (26C) in London, and just below in many other areas including Birmingham, Manchester and York.
Temperatures are not expected to reach the 70s in Scotland, where it is likely to remain wet for most of the day.
The rain is then expected to return on Sunday, with fog also likely in some areas, particularly in the north-east, with sunny spells again coming in between scattered showers.
Despite the showers, though, some areas could experience temperatures up to 75F (24C).
‘The picture is not really changing into early next week as the unsettled weather continues,’ Ms Maxey said. ‘We’re likely to see a mix of sunshine and strong showers, with a risk of thunderstorms for the first half of next week.’
England in particular has been beset by rainfall in recent days, with more than double the amount of water falling in the first 10 days of this month, compared to all of May.
Last month was the warmest May on record with global temperatures 1.13F (0.63C) above average, according to the European Union’s climate change monitor.
Shoppers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, braved the rain yesterday after all shopping centres and retailers were given the green light to reopen in a significant relaxation of coronavirus lockdown restriction
A car creates a large splash as it drives through a puddle in Yeadon yesterday, with rain expected in parts of the UK today
The UK has been beset by rainfall in recent days, with many areas seeing more water falling in the first 10 days of this month, compared to all of May. Pictured: Shoppers brave the rain in Belfast yesterday
The lifting of further restrictions this week is designed to help the UK’s ‘many lonely or isolated people’ who are seen as struggling the most during the months-long lockdown.
The PM said: ‘I know how how difficult the past months have been for people cut off from their family and friends.
‘There are still too many people, particularly those who live by themselves, who are by themselves and struggling’.
He admitted that there would be many people disappointed by the restrictions on eligibility but cautioned that the change was not an excuse for a free-for-all.
‘We are making this change to support those who are particularly lonely as a result of lockdown measures,’ he said. ‘It’s a targeted intervention to limit the most harmful effects of the current social restrictions.
‘It is emphatically not designed for people who don’t qualify to start meeting inside other people’s homes, because that remains against the law.’
Mr Johnson also confirmed shops could reopen on Monday if they abide by social distancing rules, as well as zoos, safari parks and drive-in cinemas.
Churches and other religious buildings can also re-open for individual worship, but there was no further announcements in relation to the opening of pubs.