UK enjoys temperatures of 25C

LONDON: The UK is basking in sizzling sunshine with the mercury edging over a balmy 25C. Scotland is enjoying the warmest day of the year so far, with 25.2C recorded at Achnagart, and temperatures continuing to rise.

Temperatures in the mid-20s are said to be unusual for this time of year. Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said the Highlands and other parts of northern Scotland were the most likely places to reach 25C on Wednesday.

The previous 2019 high in Scotland was 24.8C recorded on April 20, while the highest UK-wide was 25.8C in Treknow in Cornwall.

Dewhurst said it looks like Wednesday would be the warmest day of the week, adding: “Tomorrow there’ll be a little bit more cloud around generally across the UK.

“It should be mostly dry but there is the risk of one or two showers for western parts of Scotland, perhaps Northern Ireland, but most places will be dry with still some sunny spells.

“We’re probably looking at maximum temperatures tomorrow around about 20C, maybe 21C, so just coming down a little bit.”

The forecaster said that during the last eight out of nine years, approximately 20 per cent of May days in the UK have seen a maximum of 20C or higher. “So it’s fairly unusual,” he said. Dewhurst said temperatures at the weekend could reach 20C or 21C, and will not be as sunny.