Temperature reaches 34.8C on UK’s hottest day of year
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.
The Met Office said provisionally this was only the 11th year since 1961 that temperatures as high as 34.8 degrees had been recorded.
It wrote on X: “It’s been the hottest day of 2024 so far with 34.8°C recorded in Cambridge today.
“Provisionally this is only the 11th year since 1961 temperatures as high as this have been recorded.
“8 of those years have been since 2000 and 6 of them have been in the last decade.”
It's been the hottest day of 2024 so far with 34.8°C recorded in Cambridge today 🌡️
— Met Office (@metoffice) August 12, 2024
Provisionally this is only the 11th year since 1961 temperatures as high as this have been recorded
8 of those years have been since 2000 and 6 of them have been in the last decade 📈 pic.twitter.com/czHsg6HyJh
A yellow heat health alert is in place until 9am on Tuesday in England for London, the south-west, south-east, east of England, East Midlands and West Midlands.
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.