After an unseasonably cold June, July is shaping up no different. Why has the month been so cool and unsettled so far?

This time last year, in July 2023, conditions were also unsettled with unseasonably low temperatures, and it seems July 2024 has followed suit, after a cold month prior too.

Our July has so far been dominated largely by low pressure across the UK and Ireland, and we mostly have the jet stream to thank.

The jet stream is a fast-flowing, meandering band of air, stationed 30,000 feet high in the atmosphere and blowing west to east across the Earth. It is the result of a large temperature gradient between the northern and southern hemisphere.

Its position has shifted southwards, currently diving across the south of the UK and Ireland. With the jet stream to our south, that means we are on the colder side of that temperature gradient with often cooler north-westerly air driving in.

On the flip side, warm air remains contained to its south across southern and eastern Europe, where heatwaves are building in parts.

It also means, with a north-westerly dominated air flow, the jet stream is carrying low pressure systems to us across the Atlantic.