The United Kingdom is currently experiencing its hottest day of the year to date, with temperatures reaching unprecedented levels, according to the Met Office. However, officials caution that these high temperatures may not last long.
As of approximately 2:05 PM on Wednesday, a temperature of 20.1°C was recorded in Northholt, located in west London, as well as in Porthmadog and Gogerddan in Wales. This figure surpasses the previous record of 19.2°C, which was noted in Northholt on March 5.
Later in the day, the Met Office confirmed that temperatures climbed even higher, reaching 20.9°C in Gogerddan and 20.2°C in Northholt by 3:35 PM.
“We get this a lot at this time of year; we sometimes joke the warmest day of the year klaxon is going off every day,”
stated Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge. He explained that the rise in temperatures is attributed to warm air being drawn up from southern Europe.
Madge further noted,
“I think this will be the peak for a while today; we are not expecting any further records in the next week or so.”
He added that the temperatures reached on this day will likely serve as a high watermark for some time.
Other regions also reported elevated temperatures, including Trawsgoed in Wales, which recorded a high of 19.5°C. Forecasters anticipate that temperatures will continue to rise across the UK throughout the afternoon.
