Today is the hottest day of the year so far after temperatures hit 32.6°C

Today is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, the Met Office has announced.

The mercury hit 32.6°C in the village of Wisley, west of Woking in Surrey, earlier today, beating the previous high of 32.2°C recorded on June 10 and 25.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Steven Ramsdale said: ‘High pressure is situated to the southeast of the UK, which is bringing more settled conditions and temperatures well above average for the time of year.

‘While the highest temperatures are expected in the south, heatwave conditions have already been met for much of England and Wales, with parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to continue to see some unseasonably high temperatures. ’

Weather enthusiasts may remember that the decidedly grim summer weather in the past couple of months was caused by the position of the jet stream in relation to the UK.

It was stuck to our south, leaving us with cold, wet and unsettled weather – but now, it’s sitting far north of the British Isles, drawing heat towards it and providing this belated summer heatwave at the start of autumn.

In fact, the heat is so significant that we could end up with some ‘tropical nights’.

Technically, that means when temperatures reach above 20°C all through the night. Non-technically, that means when you can’t get to sleep because of the heat even though you’re on top of your duvet.

There has never been a September night hotter than 21.7°C recorded in the UK, and there’s also never been more than one September ‘tropical night’ recorded in a row before.

The Met Office has said both of those facts could change this week, most likely in the south of the country.

Amber heat-health alerts were issued on Tuesday for eight regions of England (that’s every region except the north-east), and they will remain in effect until 9pm on Sunday.

Met Office forecasters believe temperatures may start to ease off on Sunday and Monday, though some places could get some ‘intense thundery downpours’ over the weekend.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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