The UK has recorded its hottest temperature of the year so far – 32.2C (89.96F) at Heathrow Airport.

The figure beats the previous record of 31.6C (88.9F) set at the same site in west London on Sunday.

It comes as the Met Office issued amber and yellow thunderstorms warnings for much of central and southern England, alongside its first-ever extreme heat warning, which covers the South West, southern parts of England, the West Midlands and Wales until midnight on Thursday.

Public Health England also has a Level 3 heat-health alert in place until the end of Friday, warning of potential heat exhaustion and increased risk to the elderly, young and clinically vulnerable.

⚠️⚠️ AMBER weather warning issued ⚠️⚠️

Thunderstorms across Cambridgeshire, Essex and Kent
Tuesday 1600-1900

Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/V79BI1EPq7

Another Met Office heat warning has been applied to Northern Ireland from 8am tomorrow until the end of Friday, when temperatures are meant to drop.

Until then the heatwave is predicted to continue.

The mercury will remain above 31C (87.8F) during the week, with forecasters suggesting the next few days could be the hottest of the year.

Parts of the UK could reach 33C (91.4F) between Tuesday and Thursday, which is hotter than top European holiday destinations such as Marbella, Mykonos and Tenerife.

Heavy rainfall, thunder and hailstorms hit parts of East Anglia and Essex from around 4pm this afternoon.

July in Essex 😱😜❄❄ Biggest hail storm I've ever been in . pic.twitter.com/QbQbRoGzc6

Photos and videos on social media showed heavy rain, flash flooding and hailstones measuring a few centimetres across.

Grahame Madge, spokesman for the Met Office, said: “The lightning frequency could be quite intense.

“The thunderstorms we’ve got developing are purely because of the heat so they’re not likely to affect the heat in anyway.”

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