Temperatures in the UK have surged to their highest point of the year so far with 34.8C recorded in Cambridge on Monday, the Met Office said.
The previous highest UK temperature in 2024 was 32C, recorded at Heathrow and Kew Gardens, south-west London, on 29 July.
In a further sign of the climate crisis, the Met Office said provisionally this was the 11th year since the 60s to have seen temperatures as high as 34.8C but six of them have been in the past decade.
It wrote on X: “It’s been the hottest day of 2024 so far with 34.8C recorded in Cambridge today. “Provisionally this is only the 11th year since 1961 temperatures as high as this have been recorded.
“Eight of those years have been since 2000 and six of them have been in the last decade.”
The weather service recommends that people keep curtains closed during the peak of the day and drink lots of water.
Motorists have been advised by the RAC to check the coolant and oil levels in their vehicles as high temperatures increase the risk of vehicle breakdowns and cars overheating.
A yellow heat health alert was issued for the East and West Midlands, east of England, south-east, south-west, north-west and London by the UK Health Security Agency until 9am on Wednesday.
Craig Snell, a Met Office forecaster, said: “The weather is coming with a lot of humidity, so it will feel quite uncomfortable out there across central eastern England.
“Elsewhere, it’s still going to be warm and humid, but the hottest weather will be in central eastern England.”
The heatwave is linked to a kink in the jet stream, caused by Tropical Storm Debby in the US, which has pushed hot air northward.
Temperatures are expected to return to normal for the time of year by midweek.
Earlier, West Midlands police said a two-year-old boy died in hospital after being pulled from a canal in Wolverhampton during hot weather on Sunday afternoon.
A West Midlands ambulance service spokesperson said crews found a boy in a critical condition and that, “despite everyone’s best efforts, the child could not be saved and he was confirmed dead at the scene”.
Elderly and vulnerable residents have also been urged to put health and safety first on the warmest day of the year. Caroline Abrahams, the charity director of Age UK, said any older person living with health conditions should stay as cool as they can and advised friends and neighbours to offer help with picking up prescriptions or groceries.
She said: “Aging bodies find it difficult to deal with extremes of temperature, so even if you are someone who has always loved the heat this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll find a day like today as pleasant and easy to deal with as you used to.
“It pays to know your own body, and to stay in touch with it as it changes over the years, but certainly if you are living with serious heart or lung conditions then it’s important to avoid getting too hot.
“There are some simple tips we can follow to stay safe and well in the heat but for most of us it’s largely a matter of exercising common sense.”
The hottest day ever in the UK was recorded in Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 19 July 2022, when the mercury hit 40.3C.
