Blitz Bureau
August 13 has been declared the hottest day of the year in the UK so far, reaching 34.8C (95F) in Cambridge, according to the Met Office.
Yellow heat alerts
The higher temperatures have been confined to central and southern England and yellow heat health alerts are in place for millions of people. Others experienced a wetter start to the day, with torrential rain further north – for which a now-expired yellow thunderstorm warning was in place.
Forecasters said that day would see the peak of the current heat spike, with temperatures due to ease as the week continued.
London, East Anglia and the home counties were forecast to experience the warmest weather. Temperatures had already exceeded 30C in the capital by midday on August 13, with several sites hitting over 32C by 13:30 BST.
Various parts of London, Writtle in Essex, and Wisley in Surrey all reached 33C – and temperatures of 32C were also recorded in areas ranging from East Malling in Kent to Holbeach in Lincolnshire.
Yellow heat health alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), are active in the East and West Midlands, East of England, South East and South West, North West and London.
They are due to expire by August 13 morning. Yellow alerts are issued during periods of hot weather that are only likely to affect those who are particularly vulnerable, for example the elderly, or those with existing health conditions. The hottest day of 2024 before this was July 30, when temperatures reached 32C in Kew Gardens and Heathrow – both in London.
This is only the eleventh year since 1961 that temperatures as high as 34.8C have been recorded, according to the Met Office’s provisional figures. Six of those occasions have been in the last 10 years, the forecaster added
