High pressure is in control, and this often brings bright, clear skies, but not at the moment. The system overhead is known as a blocking high.

A blocking high is a persistent area of high pressure that can lead to stagnant weather conditions, often referred to as "anticyclonic gloom."

This phenomenon typically occurs when the high pressure becomes stationary, preventing the usual movement of weather systems.

As a blocking high establishes itself over the UK and Ireland, it can sometimes creates clear skies and dry weather in the short term, or, as it is now, trap cloud inside.

It can also exacerbate air quality issues, as pollution becomes trapped under the stable atmosphere. You can keep an eye on that with our app's Air Quality Index feature, though for now conditions are good and the pressure system is steadily moving towards Europe over the coming days.