Bank holiday sees UK’s hottest day of the year as 24.6C recorded in Scotland

Met Office says new record is not expected to last long as temperatures are forecast to climb throughout the week

People enjoy the hot weather on Bournemouth beach, Dorset (PA)

Bank holiday Monday has become the warmest day of the year so far after 24.6C was recorded at Kinloss in Scotland, according to the Met Office.

It surpassed the previous high for 2021, which was set on 30 March at Kew Gardens in southwest London when the temperature hit 24.5C.

The temperature beats those seen in Lisbon and Barcelona, which hovered around 22C.

Britons flocked to parks and beaches as the sun beamed through blue skies over the long weekend.

Earlier, the Met Office said the new record is not expected to last for long, as temperatures are expected to climb to 27C on Wednesday before cooler, fresher air moves in.

Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist from the Met Office, said the latter part of the week could bring thunderstorms.

“There will potentially be some thunderstorms by midweek – the first bout of showers will come in to parts of the southwest and there will be a few thunderstorms in that,” she said.

Sunseekers at Hackney Marshes in east London (AFP via Getty)

The storms in the southwest are expected to hit on Wednesday, with the southeast due for a bit of a soaking by Friday.

“There’s a chance of some thundery breakdown in the southeast and we could have some quite intense storms there,” Ms Mitchell said.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty, but with the warm and humid weather we are having, we have the key ingredients for thunderstorms.”

She continued: “The warmer weather will stick around until at least Thursday in most places – that’s when we could get some slightly fresher air coming in.”