The heat is on for Britons – 32°C

FOR the lucky few Britons who managed a dip in the sea or a trip to the park on Monday, the heat was truly glorious.

But for those sweltering at their desks, the hottest day of the year so far was one they’d probably rather forget.

Temperatures peaked at 32.4°C in Northolt, north-west London, while much of the rest of the country also reached the 30s.

This beat the previous record for this year, which was set on Sunday at 32.1°C. The Met Office expected highs of 31°Ctoday in the South, but says it could reach 33°C in some areas.

Its forecasters tweeted: “This hot spell is set to be the first time for over 20 years that somewhere in the UK has reached over 30°C for five consecutive days in June.”

The highest June temperature ever recorded in Britain is 35.6°C at Southampton on June 28, 1976. A figure of 32.5°C – marginally hotter than on Monday was reached at Heathrow in 2015. High temperatures are forecast to stay for most regions until cooler air moves in on Friday. A heatwave alert has been issued by the Met Office for across England, lasting until 9am tomorrow.

The “amber” warning is one level below a national emergency, and is issued when there is a 90% probability of a heatwave.

The soaring heat came as scientists warned that three-quarters of the world’s population could face killer heatwaves in a generation.

Almost a third currently suffer these extreme events for at least 20 days a year. But researchers at the University of Hawaii said this is likely to rise after studying data from 783 heatwaves.

On Monday there were transport problems as the weather was too hot for trains to run normally. In the south-east almost 50 trains were cancelled and dozens delayed because of the risk of tracks buckling.