The hottest April since records began

Much of Britain will bask in scorching 22C temperatures today as the Met Office confirmed last night that April 2007 will be the warmest since records began in 1659.

London and most of the South will be scorching in temperatures nearly 10 degrees above the average for this time of year, while weather experts said the average Central England temperature for April was 11.1C, beating the previous record of 10.6C set in 1865.

Specialists at the Met Office's Hadley Centre, which researches climate change, said the warming trend was consistent with climate predictions.

The Government has advised that people should avoid making unnecessary short car journeys today to reduce the formation of ozone.