UK could hit 30C temperature at earliest point in year on record

Temperatures could hit 30C at the earliest point in the year on record in the UK on Thursday, the Met Office said.

Parts of southern and central England are expected to see temperatures reach 26C on Tuesday.

The warm weather will continue on Wednesday, with highs of 27C in London forecast.

Temperatures could rise to 30C in some places on Thursday, the forecaster said.

Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “It is not particularly unusual to see warm and sunny periods in April where temperatures reach the mid-20s.

“This has occurred as recently as 2018 and 2019, for example.

“However, it is more unusual to see temperatures reach the high-20s, and if we see 30C this week, it will be the earliest point in the year in which we have achieved that threshold.”

Nicola Maxey, press officer at the Met Office, said: “As high pressure continues to dominate the UK weather we will see the temperatures building day on day through the week with Thursday seeing the peak of the heat with 29C or even a chance we could see 30C.

“Friday temperatures will start to dip across much of the UK as the high pressure starts to pull away.”

The highest recorded April temperature was in 1949, when Camden Square, London, recorded 29.4C.

For May, the highest temperature recorded was 32.8°C on May 22 1922, in Camden Square.

There is a possibility the UK could see heatwave conditions this week, if temperatures reached 25C on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the forecaster said.

According to the Met Office, the definition of a heatwave is three consecutive days of temperatures exceeding the “heatwave threshold”, which varies across the country.

The threshold is 25C for most of the UK, with slightly higher numbers for the South and East, and rising to 28C in London.

Mike Childs, Friends Of The Earth head of policy warned that heatwaves will become “far more frequent and more intense as climate change takes hold”.

“The UK also needs to go further and faster to cut its emissions,” he said.

“A new climate action plan is due in October, and ministers must seize the enormous opportunities this will bring.

“As well as getting UK climate targets back on track, it will also cut bills, create new jobs, insulate our heat-leaking homes – and put the UK at the forefront of helping to fix our broken planet.”