UK weather: England experiences hottest day of 2024

Forecasters said Monday would see the peak of the current heat spike, with temperatures due to ease as the week continued.

London, East Anglia and the home counties were forecast to experience the warmest weather.

Temperatures had already exceeded 30C in the capital by midday on Monday, with several sites hitting over 32C by 13:30 BST.

Yellow heat health alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), are active in the East and West Midlands, East of England, South East and South West, North West and London.

They are due to expire by Wednesday morning.

Yellow alerts are issued during periods of hot weather that are only likely to affect those who are particularly vulnerable, for example the elderly, or those with existing health conditions.

The hottest day of 2024 before Monday was 30 July, when temperatures reached 32C in Kew Gardens and Heathrow – both in London.

The Met Office has said it is unlikely that figures will exceed the 40.3C recorded at Coningsby, Lincolnshire in July 2022 – the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK.

“Today is likely to be the hottest day of 2024 so far, with a surge of heat from the south bringing very hot and humid weather across much of England and Wales,” Met Office spokesperson Andrea Bishop told BBC News.

“Temperatures are likely to reach 34C in a few places in the south-east of England, but temperatures are much nearer average in northern and western areas of the UK.”