Sunshine is all set to continue after year’s hottest day

TEMPERATURES soared to more than 23°C in Wales on the hottest day of the year so far – and the hottest day in April for nearly 70 years.

The mercury hit a whopping 23.5°C in Usk yesterday, making it the warmest day of the year in Wales, the Met Office said.

But it wasn’t the only place to hit such high temperatures.

Bute Park in Cardiff reached 23.1°C at 2pm, with Tredegar hitting a high of 23°C. Hawarden reached a high of 21.8°C, with Libanus recording a high of 21.6°C, the Met Office confirmed – meaning Wales was hotter than the south of France yesterday afternoon.

But the good news is the warm spell is set to continue for most.

A forecaster for the Met Office said it’s set to be a sunnier day today for most, with temperatures not quite reaching as high as yesterday – but a maximum of 20°C is predicted, with it getting above that in places inland.

With the sunny spells yesterday, dozens flocked to parks, beaches and seafronts to make the most of the scorching temperatures.

But sun-seekers heading to the coast at Barry Island were left a little bit disappointed – after the seaside resort ended up being covered in a think mist that had rolled in off the sea.

“It’s not quite as sunny as we were expecting,” said Nicky, of Cardiff Family Walks, who was at the beach this afternoon with a group of families.

“But we are still having fun anyway because we love Barry beach.

“The cloud is quite bad, making it difficult to see anything.”

Met Office forecaster John West said that there was a far amount of sea fog and cloud in the Bristol Channel and the Irish Sea and that some of it had come onto land.

He said: “It is because of the warm temperatures on land that creates a difference in temperature and as the warm air rises it needs to be replaced by something which brings in the cold air and the fog from the sea.”

Elsewhere in the UK yesterday, the mercury hit 29.1°C in St James’ Park in central London – making it the warmest April day since 1949, the Met Office said.

But the rising temperatures have also led to warnings from bosses of the London Marathon – with Sunday’s race set to be the highest on record.

The hottest London marathon on record so far was 22.7°C back in 1996, the Met Office said.

But with temperatures predicted to hit 23°C in the capital on race day, marathon organisers have now been prompted to add more water, ice and shower stations along the 26.2-mile route around the capital.

Regular runners are being advised to consider dropping their goal-times and run more slowly, but conditions could be worse for those running in costumes, organisers warned.