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It’s officially the hottest day of the year – with 33C recorded in Suffolk

Amelie Tassel cooling off in the sea Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN Archant

Suffolk and Essex are experiencing the hottest say of the year so far - with the Met Office reporting temperatures of 33.3C in Santon Downham in Suffolk.

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️️️BREAKING NEWS - it's the #hottestdayoftheyearsofar with 33.3 °C recorded at Santon Downham in Suffolk ️️️ pic.twitter.com/wMsPfCvAsx — Met Office (@metoffice) July 23, 2018

The scorching hot weather has sparked a level 3 heatwave warning from the Met Office, with forecasters predicting the temperature will reach even higher through the week.

The Met Office triggers its level three, or amber, warning when its threshold temperatures - of 30C in the daytime and 15C at night time - are reached for at least two consecutive days.

Phil Garner, forecaster at Weatherquest, said the heat wave was far from over.

“It is going to stay hot and dry - that’s the main message, he said.

Hot weather in Felixstowe brings out thousands of beach goers. Picture: GREGG BROWN Hot weather in Felixstowe brings out thousands of beach goers. Picture: GREGG BROWN

“There’s a chance the weather may break down a little towards the weekend though.

“Showers could be coming from the south then, but that won’t happen until after Friday. “Until then it will be fine and dry.”

Mr Garner said temperatures are set to get even higher this week, with temperatures of 33C in some parts of the region.

“Tuesday we will see temperatures of 32-33C, on Wednesday it will be 33C.

A man makes the most of the sunny weather Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN A man makes the most of the sunny weather Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

“Thursday we will see 32C and Friday 31C.

“36C is the around where the record stands for July so we are not going to quite top that.

“But it isn’t just the day time temperatures, it will be warm at night too.

“There will be persistent heat and humidity.”

Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals have had an increase in the number of admissions through the period of hot weather.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “Our emergency departments have been very busy.

“We do see a rise in the number of people we treat during hot weather but there is also a rise in the number of tourists in the county.

“We are urging everyone to stay safe in the sun.

“We are really grateful to everyone’s support only to come to the emergency department if they really need to.

“Think Pharmacist, think GP and think dialling 111 to seek advice before you come into the emergency department.

“We want people to enjoy the sunshine - lets look after one another through it.”