#HottestDayofTheYear: The internet reacts to the heatwave

Parts of the UK are currently hotter than Athens and Barcelona

The UK is being gripped by a heatwave (Getty)

Few things prompt people to flex their satirical muscles on social media like a heat wave, and as the mercury has hit its highest point in nine years #hottestdayoftheyear has started trending on Twitter.

Most parts of the UK are experiencing temperatures between 30C and 33C – meaning it is hotter than Barcelona and Athens.

As public transport and offices struggle to cope with the heat, workers are venting in the only way they know how: by posting witty tweets.

Packed trains filled with sweating commuters were an easy target for many tweeters.

Some leaped on #ThingsHotterThanToday to emphasise the heat by comparing it to infamously hot things...

Others drew on art and pop culture including the Bayeux Tapestry, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings and Total Recall.

But Twitter users won't have ammo for long, as temperatures are set to drop on Thursday when thunderstorms are likely to hit, a Met Office spokesman told the Metro.