Year's hottest day so far as temperature soars past 34C

The UK recorded its hottest day of the year so far as temperatures surpassed 34C and much of the country sweltered in heatwave conditions.

- BRYONY GOOCH

A high of 34.7C was recorded in St James’s Park in central London yesterday afternoon by the Met Office, beating the previous warmest day of the year on 21 June, where a scorching 33.2C was recorded in Charlwood, Surrey.

Much of England has faced warnings of extreme heat this week as Monday brought the hottest start to Wimbledon on record and temperatures shot up to maximums of 33.1C in Heathrow and 32.9C in Kew Gardens.

The previous warmest opening day on record was on 25 June 2001, when temperatures hit 29.3C. Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon said that yesterday would likely mark “the peak of this current heatwave in terms of absolute temperatures we’re expecting”.

“It’s a continuation of recent days in the South East in particular, with those temperatures well beyond average for the time of year, in a fairly notable heatwave,” he added.

Not only has July started with the hottest day of the year so far, but the Met Office released reports of a record-breaking June. England had its warmest June on record. The UK experienced its second warmest June since the series began in 1884, with a mean temperature of 15.2C for the month, only surpassed by June 2023, which recorded 15.8C.

It is the second heatwave for parts of the UK within the last month, as Europe more widely is facing searing temperatures in the high thirties with wildfires across Turkey and Greece.