Thursday is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6C recorded in Wisley, Surrey, the Met Office has said.
The heatwave is about to break the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures above 30C in September, according to the forecaster, with Saharan dust generating vivid sunsets and sunrises in the clear conditions.
Wednesday was the third day above 30C, matching a record seen on four previous occasions, most recently in 2016.
The high temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend, peaking as high as 33C on Saturday.
The Met Office said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “After getting very close yesterday, today is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6°C recorded in Wisley.”
