The south east and Kent may be on course to see the hottest day of the year today.

Yesterday the Met Office announced the highest temperature recorded on Saturday was 24.8C at Kew Gardens in London, with 24.6C at Heathrow and St James’s Park as well.

Parts of the county were bathed in non-stop sunshine yesterday, bringing people out to coasts and parks, and temperatures are expected to continue to climb today.

Meteorologist Alex Burkill said that the Mercury could get as high as 29C later on.

If it climbs above 28.3C it will make it the hottest day of the year so far as well as the hottest June 13 on record, he added. And the Met Office has also tweeted to say this record could well be challenged today.

The highest temperature recorded so far in 2021 was 28.3C (82.94F) in Northolt, north-west London, on June 2.

But Mr Burkill said it was unlikely that temperatures will go above 30C today, adding: “We are going to get close, it is unlikely we are going to get over 30C – it’s going to be touch and go."

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Mr Burkill added: “If we don’t end up getting close to 28.3C later on there’s a chance we could get even higher temperatures on Monday when we could get 29C or 30C.

“The top temperatures are going to be towards the London area, but the heat is going to be widespread, it’s not just confined to the South East.”

Into Monday, he said the weather will split, with the south continuing to see hot temperatures while the north will be cooler.

Mr Burkill added: “On Monday the heat is going to be largely confined to southern and south-eastern parts of the UK.

“Further north and in Scotland it will be high teens at best. There could be some showers but on the whole it is looking largely dry.”

While many people flocked to beaches yesterday, in Thanet there was a warning for visitors to be careful after hundreds of jellyfish were spotted.

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