UK heatwave officially declared temperatures top 32C on hottest day of the year so far

Britain experienced its hottest day of the year so far on Sunday, with temperatures rising to 32.1 degrees.

A heatwave has been officially declared in eight places in South East England, with temperatures exceeding the 27C threshold for three consecutive days.

The first place to meet the criteria at around 11.30am was Santon Downham, the Met Office said.

This was followed closely by Heathrow around 11.50am, whose benchmarks were three consecutive days at 28C. Temperatures in that area have since risen to 30C.

Temperatures are expected to rise as high as 34C in Greater London and South East England on Monday.

Speaking to the Press Association, a Met Office spokesman said: “Even in the summer we rarely see temperatures above 35 degrees, so to see temperatures approaching 35 in May is, as I say, quite historic.”

Saturday was the first time this year it has exceeded 30 degrees in the UK; The last time it happened was in May 2012.

Elsewhere in England, temperatures rose to between 25 and 30C on Sunday. However, Scotland experiences cooler temperatures, reaching the mid-teens.

It comes after a series of yellow heat health warnings came into force in London, the South East, the East and the Midlands on Friday; There were yellow alerts in the rest of England.

The warnings mean there could be a “significant” impact on health and social services and an increase in deaths, according to the UKHSA.

With the heat wave that developed over the weekend, some parts of the country are experiencing higher temperatures than Mediterranean countries, including Greece.

The Met Office is also expecting the hottest May day on record, with temperatures reaching 33C in the south of England and the Midlands in the coming days, surpassing the current May temperature record of 32.8C.

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