Scotland to sizzle at 28C in ‘African flame-thrower’

East of the country expected to be warmest, while England could reach record-breaking highs of 39C

Scotland will sizzle at 28C (82F) on England’s “day of fire” today amid a 500-mile wide “African flame-thrower” heat plume.

England could have temperatures of 39C (102F), making it Britain’s hottest day for 177 years.

Eastern Scotland, including St Andrews, pictured right, is expected to be the hottest area north of the border, at 28C, with 25C in the central belt and 23C in the west.

But “big bang” thunderstorms threaten the Borders this afternoon.

A Met Office warning for northern England bordering on southern Scotland said: “Thunderstorms could see 60mm of rain in three hours.”

The Met Office said East Anglia could today beat Britain’s all-time temperature record of 38.5C (101.3F), set on August 10, 2003, at Brogdale, near Faversham, Kent.

Yesterday brought the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures soaring to almost 34C.

With the potentially record-breaking high temperatures in the coming days, the UK Government is being warned it must do more to protect vulnerable people in extreme heat.

A Met Office spokesman said while it will be a bit cooler and potentially unsettled over the weekend, the hot weather will return next week.

A mix of toxic air, extreme highs, emissions from the continent and a lack of cloud cover have caused a “high” air pollution alert to be issued for London.

Children, the elderly and people with lung or heart problems have been advised to reduce strenuous exercise and physical exertion.

Advice and warnings have been issued to those on the move in the heat.

Drivers have been urged not to throw rubbish from vehicles amid a surge in grass fires near busy roads.

Meanwhile, passengers using crosschannel Eurotunnel services face delays of up to five hours after air conditioning units failed on trains. The English end of the Folkestone-calais link was worst affected, with people forced to queue for up to 90 minutes just to check in and a further three-and-a-half hours for the next available slot, according to the operator.

Footage posted on social media showed long queues of cars, caravans and lorries.