Mercury is expected to rise steadily in the coming days, culminating in the hottest day of the week on Thursday. Tourist hotspots such as Ibiza, Crete and Saint Tropez will be milder than the United Kingdom, with most of the country having temperatures of 20 degrees. Despite the heat, temperatures are unlikely to exceed the 23.4 degrees Celsius recorded at St James’s Park in London last month, which was the hottest day of the year so far. Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: “This week is an old joke, there is plenty of rain and clouds around as well as sunny periods, with many areas gradually warming up until Thursday which will be the hottest day. “Between Monday and Wednesday the temperatures will be in the high teens and the low 20 degrees in Wales and in the central and southern parts of England, while eastern Scotland could reach 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 F). “But in parts of Northern Ireland, Northern England and Scotland there will be clouds and some rain. “On Thursday, there will be tall teenagers quite widely throughout the country, areas on the southeast side will rise up to 21 C, with an external probability of 22 C in areas where there is more sunshine. “So there is a warm season for many, but do not expect the sunshine from wall to wall and the blue sky we saw in April.” The Met Office said that there is a high pressure area in the south of the United Kingdom, while there is low pressure over the northern areas. Many areas will get cooler by Friday and weekend, meteorologists predict. Additional report from PA
