Britain has officially recorded its hottest July day ever - as the mercury soared to a sizzling 36.9C this afternoon.
This was recorded at London Heathrow Airport.
It beats the country's previous July record, also recorded at Heathrow, in 2015.
The all-time UK temperature record still stands at 38.5C - recorded in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003.
The Met Office previously tweeted: "It's looking likely that we could reach 39C somewhere in southern and eastern England on Thursday.
"The hottest temperature ever recorded in the UK is 38.5°C.
"There is currently a 60% chance we could break this on Thursday, depending on the amount of cloud."
Public Health England and the Met Office issued a level three heatwave warning for the UK.
The alert advised people to stay out of the sun, keep their homes as cool as possible and drink plenty of fluids.
But along with the heatwave warning, the Met Office have also issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms.
The warning is in force from 3pm today until 4am tomorrow and covers an area including south-east, south, east, central, north-east, north and north-west England.
The alert area also extends into east Scotland, with forecasters warning that rainfall could cause delays for drivers and disruption for rail and bus services.
Downpours and lightning may also lead to flooding and power cuts.
The Met Office warning states: "Following a hot day (in places exceptionally so), scattered thunderstorms are likely to break out from late afternoon onwards.
"While some areas, particularly in the south of the warning area may well avoid the storms, where they do occur they could produce 20-30 mm of rain in less than an hour, along with frequent lightning, hail and gusty winds.
"Perhaps the main focus will be later in the evening and into the first part of the night across northern England and southern and eastern parts of Scotland, where storms could be more widespread and locally intense."
The heat will start to subside tomorrow, with cloud replacing the sunshine in much of the country, although the mercury will still reach 29C in places.
.jpg?w=600)
