UK weather: Country records hottest day of the year as sunshine set to continue

Today the thermostat hit 28.3C

People enjoying the hot weather in Potters Fields, London (PA)

Britain is currently basking in sunshine as the thermostat today hit 28.3C - the hottest day of the year so far.

People have been pictured taking full advantage of loosened Covid restrictions by packing out parks and beaches. It comes after weeks of heavy rain and wind for most of May.

Today’s top temperature was reached in Northolt, west London, just before midday, beating the previous day’s record of 26.1C in Cardiff, meaning the UK recorded its third successive warmest day of 2021.

Parts of Surrey and Kent also saw temperatures of between 27 and 28C as the thermostat threatened to hit 30C.

Hawarden in Flintshire reached 26.5C to become Wales’ own warmest day of the year.

Scotland also recorded its hottest days of 2021 with Achnagart reaching 25.4C, while the 23.3C in Ballywatticock, Northern Ireland, matched its previous warmest day of the year.

However areas in south-west England and south Wales, which had enjoyed blazing sunshine in recent days, experienced some heavy rain during the afternoon on Wednesday.

The Met Office said the rain was likely to move northwards through the day and into the evening with heavy and potentially thundery showers expected.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said that temperatures will have peaked on Wednesday, but despite the risk of more showers the rest of the week would “still be on the warm side”.

He said: “Temperatures on Thursday are expected to be around 26 to 27C across south-east England and East Anglia.

“And then through the rest of the week we’ll generally see a mixture of sunny spells and a few showers, and temperatures around 24 to 25C.

“So it’s not quite as hot for the rest of the week compared to the maximum temperatures on Wednesday, but still staying above average for this time of year.”

The warm weather has been a welcome break for people following a washout May, which brought heavy downpours and prolonged spells of rain for much of the UK.

Wales experienced the wettest May since records began in 1862, with 245mm of rainfall, topping the previous record of 184mm set in 1967, according to the Met Office.

The UK has seen its fourth highest amount of rainfall on record for the month, with an average of 120mm.

Meanwhile, England had its fifth wettest May on record, and its wettest since 1967, with 111mm of rain.

Additional reporting by PA