UK weather: hottest day of the year so far as temperature of 31.9C recorded

A sunseeker on a deckchair in Broadstairs, Kent, as temperatures soared across the UK. Photograph: Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Images

UK temperatures have reached their highest point of the year so far, the Met Office has confirmed, with 31.9C recorded at St James’s Park in central London.

The high temperatures, which were recorded largely along the eastern half of the country, came as the majority of schools in England and Wales closed for the summer.