Tennis fans have been served a sweltering start to Wimbledon as today was one of the hottest June days on record.
Temperatures reached on the opening day reached 32.9°C, well over the previous record of 29.3°C set on June 25, 2001.
The tennis competition had earlier warned fans not to travel to the grounds today to ‘avoid disappointment’.
Organisers said on the Wimbledon website: ‘Please note there is a hot weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday. In both The Queue and the Grounds, there may be periods where shade is not available.
‘Please plan appropriately, including bringing water, suncream and a hat.’
The hottest day the tournament has ever seen was on July 1, 2015, when temperatures reached 35.7°C.
Transport for London (TfL) staff at Earl’s Court reportedly told travellers not to go to Wimbledon because it was ‘at capacity’.
In Scotland, a brave gamekeeper took on raging wildfires armed only with a leafblower to stop the spread to rural communities.
The Scottish Gameskeeper Association have warned that such blazes are ‘becoming a danger to human life’ as they helped firefighters prevent two fires from merging into a single inferno.
Firefighters say fires are now one of the biggest threats facing rural communities, with the north-west Highlands seen as the greatest risk.
(Pictures: SGA Media/PA Wire)
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Most of England will enter a fourth day of a heatwave, forecast to be hotter than holiday spots in Barbados, Jamaica and Mexico.
The hottest part of the UK today was in Heathrow, where a sweltering 33.1°C was recorded, the warmest day of the year so far.
This is only marginally cooler than Charlwood in Surrey, which recorded the hottest temperature of the year so far at 33.2°C on June 21
The coolest temperature recorded today was in Tiree, a Scottish island, where the mercury barely rose above a comparatively freezing 13.4°C.
Since 1960, UK temperatures in June have surpassed 34°C in only three years, with the hottest being 35.6°C, recorded on June 28, 1976, during the hottest and longest heatwave ever recorded.
A tropical night may also be on the cards, with parts of England to stay above 20°C overnight into Tuesday, the Met Office said.
Parts of south-east England could then hit 35°C on Tuesday. But Scotland and Northern Ireland face heavy rain and cooler temperatures.
A second amber heat health alert in two weeks came into force on Friday, covering London, the East Midlands, the South East, the South West and the East of England.
An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25°C to 28°C in different parts of the UK.
London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Thomas Goodall said warned that the current risk of wildfires is severe.
‘So far this year, firefighters have responded to around 14 wildfires in the capital,’ he said. ‘There have also been countless callouts to smaller fires involving grass, trees and in other outdoor spaces, as well as in people’s gardens.
‘During this latest heatwave, it is important that everyone acts responsibly to prevent fires from occurring. As the weather has been so dry, it only takes a few sparks to lead to a fire spreading rapidly.
‘In London, this can be dangerous because so many of our green spaces lie close to homes and other properties.’
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