HOTTEST IN HISTORY

WARMEST NIGHT ON RECORD AS TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO TOP 40C

- Ross Lydall, Anna Davis and Rachael Burford

LONDONERS were today sweltering in the record-breaking heatwave with temperatures predicted to top 40C after the hottest night in history.

Millions suffered disturbed sleep with temperatures staying above 25C. Today the heat was predicted to reach a historic high of 41C in some areas, ahead of another roasting night.

As Network Rail closed King's Cross station and issued a "do not travel" warning, Tube services were again axed or faced "severe delays" and emergency services were prepared for more Londoners succumbing to the extreme heat. In key developments:

An increased number of schools were closed, including some that had pledged to remain open, after temperatures reached 42C in classrooms. Many were sending pupils home early.

Train services across the country were again disrupted, with most Thameslink and Great Northern services in London cancelled. LNER did not run trains from York to King's Cross.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps admitted it would take "decades" to upgrade the UK's rail and road network so it could cope with extreme weather.

Police resumed a search for a 14-year-old boy believed drowned in the Thames. He had been seen entering the water yesterday afternoon at Tagg's Island in East Molesey, near Hampton Court. Temperatures yesterday were the hottest of the year but fell just short of a new record.

They peaked at 38.1C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, the Met Office said - the third hottest day on record, after 38.7C in Cambridge in 2019 and 38.5C in Faversham, Kent, in 2003.

But forecasters said the record for the UK's hottest day was set to be smashed today, with the temperature set to reach 40C in London and 41C in central or eastern England.