South-east England is enjoying Britain’s hottest day of the year, as a late summer heatwave raised temperatures to more than 34C.



Glorious afternoon sunshine pushed the mercury to 34.4C (93.9F) in Gravesend, Kent, at 2.18pm, the Met Office said. It is the highest September temperature in Britain in more than 100 years, and beats the previous 2016 high of 33.8C (92.8F) set in the village of Cavendish, Suffolk, on 24 August.

It is the first time since 1991 that a day in September has been the hottest of the year.

The last time a higher temperature was recorded in the UK in September was in 1911, when Raunds, in Northamptonshire, reached 34.6C. The highest September temperature ever recorded was 35.6C in Bawtry, South Yorkshire, in 1906.

On Monday evening the east of England, from the Midlands down to London and the south-east coast, was put on a level two heatwave alert.

But other parts of the country had warnings of a different kind, with forecasters urging people in the north of England and south-east Scotland to prepare for torrential rain with a risk of hail, lightning and strong winds.

Parts of west and south-west England have been drenched in as much as 11mm of rainfall in an hour, according to Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office.

In hot areas, health experts warned vulnerable people to take care. Dr Thomas Waite, of Public Health England’s extreme events team, said: “Much of the advice on beating the heat is common sense and for most people there’s nothing to really worry about. But for some people, such as older people, those with underlying health conditions and those with young children, summer heat can bring real health risks.

“To keep homes and sleeping areas cool at night remember to close curtains on windows that face the sun during the day; once the sun is off windows open them up to get a breeze, and think about turning off electrical devices all over the home as they can generate unwanted heat, too.”

Earlier on Tuesday, a high of 32.8C was recorded at Heathrow, west of London, and in Kew, west London, the Met Office said, matching September temperatures last recorded in Britain in 1949. Madge said warm air was being pulled up from further south in Europe, while the lingering effects of hurricane Hermine had brought warm air up into the Atlantic.

The blistering highs recorded in Gravesend and Heathrow mean the areas were hotter than Bangkok, Ibiza and Marrakech in Morocco. After a warm night, above 20C, temperatures would start coming down from Wednesday, Madge said, although the weather would remain warm until the weekend, when more unsettled conditions would appear.



“The forecast is that the heat will disappear from the weekend as we get fresher conditions coming in from the Atlantic,” he added.