Met Office reveals whether the North East will be hotter than Ibiza this week

Temperatures in some areas of the UK are expected to reach 19C on Thursday, coinciding with the spring equinox, making certain regions warmer than Ibiza which is forecast to hit 18C.

However, temperatures in the North East will remain cooler, with Sunderland reaching 11C, South Tyneside 12C and Newcastle 13C.

Temperatures will rise slightly on Saturday, with highs of 15C in Newcastle, before dropping again to around 10C.

What is the Spring Equinox?

At the equinox, the Earth's axis is neither tilted towards nor away from the Sun, resulting in nearly equal day and night lengths. The equinox occurs twice a year, in March and September.

The spring equinox marks the start of astronomical spring, and after this, days will be longer than nights, leading up to the summer solstice on 21 June.

When is the Spring Equinox?

This year, the spring equinox will fall on 20 March.

Although it marks the start of astronomical spring, the clocks won’t go forward until the last Sunday of the month—30 March—when they will jump forward by one hour at 1am.