UK weather news: Hottest April day in 70 years as temperatures soar to 29.1C

The hottest UK April temperature in 70 years was recorded today as the mercury soared to 29.1C.

The Met Office recorded the highest temperature in St James's Park, central London, on Thursday afternoon.

A warm blast from the Azores off the Portugese coast has caused the mercury to surge and brought a heatwave to parts of Britain.

Forecasters had said the temperature could hit 28C in parts of the South-East today, making it the warmest April day in nearly 70 years. It is the warmest April day since 1949 when the mercury hit 29.4C

By lunchtime, the mercury had already reached 26C at Heathrow.

London’s high streets and shopping centres were celebrating the heatwave.

Spending on clothes, food and drink, DIY and at gardening centres is expected to boom over the coming days — wiping out memories of empty shops during the “Beast from the East” blizzards of February and March.

A high of 26C was predicted for London tomorrow, and sunshine through the weekend.

Jeremy Selwyn

A spokeswoman for Waitrose said its buyers had put in huge orders for outdoor food in anticipation of the warm weather. She said: “This week we expect burgers to be a top seller and have increased our orders of barbecue food by 140 per cent versus last week. Salads are also expected to see an increase of 15 per cent.”

Stunning images show sunrise over London

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Orders of beer are up more than 150 per cent, while stores are stocking 60 per cent more cider and more than 50 per cent extra rosé wine.

Tesco said it had already seen a big surge in demand for traditional summer lines and over the next week expects to sell more than 8 million sausages, nearly 2 million chicken drumsticks, 3 million ice lollies, 80,000 pairs of sandals and flip-flops and 18,000 pairs of sunglasses. Retail figures today revealed the effect of the poor weather, with sales down a larger-than-expected 1.2 per cent last month.

Debenhams, which reported an 84 per cent fall in first-half profits, said the Beast from the East had a “material impact” on its financial results. It was forced to close about 100 of its stores temporarily during the worst of the weather. Richard Lim, chief executive of analysts Retail Economics, said: “Retail is all about appropriate weather at the right time of the year so snow in spring when all the summer lines are out is a real problem.”

Londoners said the weather would boost their spending. Mother-of-two Maria Muller, 37, from Hampstead said: “Everyone spends more when they are trying to stay out as long as they can. Londoners always go crazy at first sight of the sun.”

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