UK hotter than Marbella with ‘chance’ of new record temperature

Matt Hancock – Official portrait of Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP crop 2.

Forecasters have forecast a 10 per cent chance of Britain enjoying its hottest March day on record on Wednesday.

Parts of London and the south-east are set to be warmer than Benidorm, Marbella and Tenerife until midday, when spring heatwave lasts.

But politicians have warned people to be ‘wary’ of visiting parks and beaches after large crowds gathered in public squares in warm weather on Tuesday.

The hottest March temperature nationwide was measured at Mepal in Cambridgeshire in 1968, and the Met Office said the mercury was likely to rise to a similar level on Wednesday.

Grahame Madge, a spokesperson for the Met Office, told PA: ‘There is a chance we could see our hottest March day on record today, we’re predicting a 10% chance that it could happen.

Mr Madge said temperatures were expected to soar to 24.7C in central London and the South East, while parts of central and eastern England and Wales are forecast to reach temperatures between 20C and 22C.

The mercury reached a high of 24.5C at Kew Gardens, outside London, on Tuesday, and St James’s Park in the centre of the capital also climbed to a peak of 24.3C.

In Scotland, the “stay at home order” is scheduled to end on Friday, while Northern Ireland will have an outside venue of up to six people, or two, from Thursday.