BRITAIN saw record high temperatures amid the sweltering heatwave, the Met Office said.
The provisional temperature of 39.1C at Charlwood, Surrey, beats the previous national record of 38.7C seen in Cambridge in July 2019
.
But the record is unlikely to hold for long, as the Met Office is forecasting temperatures to reach as high as 41C on Tuesday in some parts of eastern England.
Much of England and Wales are under a “red” extreme heat warning until the end of Tuesday, with the heat causing disruption on transport networks and the risk of serious health impacts.
It comes after UK experienced its warmest night on record on Monday as the extreme heat saw temperatures remaining in the mid-20s in some areas.
Rail services have been heavily disrupted on Tuesday, with no services into or out of London Kings Cross all day, no Thameslink or Great Northern trains north of London, and only very limited services on East Midlands Railway.
There are also very limited and disrupted services running into and out of London Euston, on Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Railway, and London Marylebone on Chiltern Railways, and temporary speed restrictions in the face of the risk of buckling rails.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps conceded the UK’s transport network cannot cope with the extreme heat and said issues on the rails and roads will continue for decades during such heatwaves.