Met Office confirms hottest day of the year with 28C and gives verdict on heatwave

The has declared today as the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures in the UK soaring to a sweltering 28. A blast of summer has gloriously struck the country, bringing hot to the country in a record-breaking start to May.

With the temperature at Kew Gardens in London reaching 28.0 °C and still climbing, it is now officially the warmest start to May on record for the UK. The previous record for May was 27.4C recorded at Lossiemouth, Moray, on May 1 1990. The Met Office said in a post on X: “With the temperature at Kew Gardens reaching 28C and still climbing, it is now officially the warmest start to May on record for the UK. The previous May 1st record high temperature was 27.4C at Lossiemouth in in 1990.”

Despite the mercury reaching its highest point so far this year, forecasters say it is not hot enough to declare an official so the UK Health Security Agency will not issue a heat-health alert, despite parts of the country reaching 30C. Parts of the England saw temperatures on Tuesday start to rise to near 25C, marking the start of this weeks beautiful warm weather.

The town of Wisley, in Surrey, even saw mercury reaching an unprecedented 26.7C on on Wednesday – making it the warmest day of the year before today's new record high. The previous high was 24.5C in St James’s Park, London, on Monday, which reached 24.7C on

READ MORE:

Todays 30C temperature peak has official marked this as the warmest start to May since records began. The Met Office described the weather as "hot sunshine" but warned the sweltering heat could bring on rain in some parts of the UK, saying there will also be "heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms through the afternoon".

Parts of the Midlands, including areas near , and parts of eastern Wales could experience patches of showers amid the summerlike heat.

Despite this, the weeks hot weather won't be enough to declare a heatwave as temperatures must see a location hit a certain minimum temperature for at least three days.

For example, in London the weather must be at least 28C for three days for heatwave to be called. Todays amazing heat will start to ease by Friday, though parts of the south and southeast may still reach 27C or 28C.

Michael Silverstone, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "The weekend will bring cooler conditions, with more average temperatures for all parts by Sunday.

"Based on the definition of a heatwave, it looks unlikely that we’ll reach one this week. Admittedly, it could be close for a few places in the south though, with temperatures either today or Friday only just failing to exceed the required threshold."

The weather next week will take a step down from the glorious sunshine and heat millions of Brits have experienced this week. Temperatures are set to drop again with some areas due to get typical British rain.

The Met Office said: "Mainly dry with spells of sunshine across the UK at the start of this period, and feeling slightly less warm than the previous week.

"A few showers are likely in places, mainly along coasts in the north and east. Little change is expected through the working week, with a large amount of dry weather and sunny spells.

"Some showers or longer spells of rain may develop at times, and if they do they are most likely to affect the north of the UK, while further south dry weather is likely to prevail. Winds will mostly be light, but could become stronger at times in the far north."

This is a breaking news story. Follow us on , , , , or visit homepage.