The sun sets on a hot day on Heacham beach in Norfolk yesterday (Picture: Paul Marriott)
The UK could see six days of temperatures hitting 30°C or more in September for the first time ever, say forecasters.
Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6°C recorded in Wisley, Surrey, the Met Office said.
It marginally surpassed the previous highest temperature of 2023 – 32.2C in June – and was the fourth day above 30°C this month.
This beat the previous record of three days seen on four previous occasions, most recently in September 2016.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: ‘If we do see 30°C all the way through until Sunday, which it looks fairly sure it will be, that will be six days in a row that we have reached 30°C.
‘Previously in September we’ve only reached 30°C three days in a row.
‘So although it’s not the the hottest spell of weather we’ve had in September, in terms of prolonged hot weather it is twice as long as we have previously had.’
Beachgoers arrange deckchairs on Brighton beach (Picture Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)
September’s highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was 35.6°C in 1906 in South Yorkshire, according to the Met Office.
Mr Partridge said there was ‘no chance’ that record would be broken this year.
‘There is potential that we might get a little bit warmer over the weekend, not by a massive amount, but enough to make it the warmest day of the year so far again,’ he said.
‘It is always going to be around 32°C, close to 33°C at the maximum temperature.’
Beachgoers soak up the rays in Brighton (Picture: Alex Lantati/LNP)
Carol Speakman, 60, from Manchester, enjoys the weather on Ayr beach, South Ayrshire, Scotland (Picture: James Chapelard)
Barnie, 6, with an ice cream on Ayr beach, South Ayrshire, Scotland (Picture: James Chapelard)
The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber warning until 9pm on Sunday in almost every area in England, with elderly people and those with certain health conditions at risk.
Mr Partridge said: ‘The biggest knock-on effect at the moment is those overnight temperatures because in parts of south-west England and Wales (Wednesday) night many places didn’t dip below 19°C, which is not easy.
‘We will continue to see temperatures in the mid to high teens overnight. A few spots could again not dip below 20°C, so it’s very warm and muggy nights.’
Temperatures are set to drop a few degrees on Monday – with London predicted to reach around 27°C, before falling to 23°C on Tuesday.
The rest of next week is forecast to hover around the early 20s in the south east and late teens further west and north.
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