Britain is warmest place in Europe as UK sees its hottest day so far

Saturday was the warmest day of 2016 so far, but today is predicted to be even hotter. Yesterday, the UK was hotter than parts of Spain, but forecasters have already seen temperatures rising higher than the day before. Forecasters said they were "fairly confident" that today would beat yesterday's temperatures and that plenty of sunshine is expected to hit many parts of the UK.

Met Office weather expert Tom Crocker said forecasters were "fairly confident" that Sunday would beat the top temperatures and "the majority of the country will see a dry day with plenty of sunshine".

The Met Office also said that Sunday would set a new record high for 2016 – but also warn on their Twitter account that UV levels will be high, so protection should be worn. Pollution levels are also expected to peak on Sunday, with high levels in London and more moderate temperatures in other parts of the country.

Temperatures in Santon Downham, Suffolk hit a high of 24.9C, but is predicted to raise to 27C today, according to the Met Office.

A Meterologist at the Weather Channel told AOL that the temperatures seen this weekend will make southern UK one of the warmest areas in Europe, even warmer than anywhere in southern Europe.

"It isn't often that the temperature in early May will top 26C. Most of daily records don't show temperatures in the 27 to 28C range until mid May. This will be a pleasant change after the hail, sleet, and snow from last week," he said.

Forecasters previously issued warnings of intense thunderstorms on Saturday before withdrawing the alert as Londoners enjoyed temperatures as high as 24C.

Enjoy it while you can, this heat and dry, sunny weather isn't expected to last long. Milder weather and rainfall are expected in the upcoming week, and will cool with each following day, according to weather reports.

The highest recorded temperature in the UK was 39.1C in Faversham, Kent on 3 August 2003.