Are we heading for the hottest June day ever?

ENGLAND could see the hottest June day on record this week, with a chance temperatures will exceed 35C (95F).

Forecasters have predicted a spike in temperatures as warm air moving up from Europe returns to Britain.

Temperatures today are expected to reach up to 24C (75F) in the South and increase as the week continues.

By Wednesday or Thursday the country could see temperatures soaring towards the 35.6C (96F) June record, which was set in London in 1957 and then equalled in Southampton in 1976.

A spokesman for the Met Office said they were confident temperatures would reach 33C (91F) in the South by Wednesday which would be the hottest day of the year so far, but that there was a 10 per cent chance the record would be equalled or broken. They added: ‘The heat will be really widespread. The hottest places will be the London area and western parts of the country.

‘The only places where it will be more comfortable will be eastern coastal areas which will see temperatures which are a little lower.

‘We are coming to the end of June and it is usually hotter because of the longer days and we are deeper into summer, so it’s an ideal time for hot weather.’ There is potential for rain in the North and the West with the possibility of thunder as well.

‘It is looking pretty dry until Thursday with the warm and sunny weather,’ said the Met Office. ‘We could see a breakdown and maybe rain and thunder making cooler, unsettled weather into the weekend. But it is not out of the question that the good weather holds on until the weekend.’