Britain will be hotter than Madrid this week as ‘Caribbean air’ pushes temperatures to 17C

A blast of hot air from the Caribbean is set to push temperatures in Britain to 17c — hotter than it is in Madrid and Greece.

The mercury was at freezing just a week ago, but spring weather will arrive early this week, with the south-east feeling most of the benefit.

The Met Office said, in London, the week could “very pleasant” with outbreaks of sunshine.

Sadly, elsewhere, it’s not going to last.

On Wednesday, there will be gales of 50mph in the north and unsettled conditions across the rest of the country.

This low pressure system is likely to bring to storms on Thursday — and then colder conditions will resume on Friday.

The Met Office told Yahoo! News that temperatures in London could hit 17c in London and the south-east today and tomorrow.

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Madrid will be 15C on Monday and Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh will be 13C — four degrees less than Britain.

But forecaster Nicola Maxey said that the end of the week will see “more typical winter weather”.

“As we get into Wednesday and Thursday, there is a chance of gale-force winds. We could see winds of 50-60mph, or even higher, on Thursday.”

Forecaster Chris Page added that “air originating from the Caribbean will be working its way toward the UK, bringing some very mild air across our shores.”

“We are forecasting temperatures of up to 16C in parts of the Midlands, if we see some decent spells of sunshine.”