Temperatures have breached 40C in the UK for the first time on Tuesday amid the continued heatwave, figures show.

The highest ever UK temperature was provisionally recorded at Heathrow this afternoon.

The Met Office earlier revealed that the UK had experienced its warmest night on record on Monday, with temperatures remaining in the mid-20s, meaning an uncomfortable sleep for many.

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The Met Office said: “Temperatures have now risen above 40C at a number of UK sites, however fresher conditions are now arriving across the far west of the country.”

At 3pm, Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, had equalled the 40.2C seen at Heathrow.

The temperature at Kew Gardens, in south-west London, had risen to 40.1C.

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Bournemouth
A woman cools off in the sea in Bournemouth as many people in the UK suffered extremely high temperatures (Steve Parsons/PA)

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Residents have spoken of “unbearable” heat in the first village to break the national temperature record in the current heatwave last week.

The small village of Charlwood, in Surrey, recorded a temperature of 39.1C on Friday morning, making it the first to break the previous record of 38.7C, set in Cambridgeshire in 2019.

One resident, Mazie Alden, 25, who runs the Half Moon pub with her father and his partner, said: “We’ve found it unbearable but we’re coping. We’ve got fans going and cold water so we’re trying our best at the pub with our staff as well.

“We’ve had a few customers that are sitting in the pub because obviously the fans are on and then we’ve got the crazy couple that are just sitting outside in the sun, which I don’t know how they’re doing that.”

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Extra police patrols will be brought in at a Lancashire quarry following reports more than 400 people gathered there on Monday.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said the patrols would be at Jamestone Quarry in Haslingden on Tuesday, along with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service officers who would be diverting people away and giving water safety messaging.

Sergeant Craig Leech said: “We know that people may not agree with us, but two teenagers have died in the North West in the last two weeks.

“One dip in the water could cost you, or your child, their life and it is not worth it.”

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Low water levels at a Devon lake
A view of low water levels at Roadford Lake in Devon (Andrew Matthews/PA)

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All trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes have been suspended as emergency services deal with a lineside fire.

The blaze was caused when 25,000 volt overhead electric cables came down in Harrow.

Network Rail said all services to and from London Euston are suspended until further notice.

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Parliament Square
A man carries his suit jacket as he walks across Parliament Square, central London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the city’s Fire Brigade is under “immense pressure” in response to a huge surge in blazes across the capital.

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Sandall Park
A man swims in a lake in Sandall Park, Doncaster (Danny Lawson/PA)

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It seems that the increased heat has not had too much of an impact on berry production, with growers able to meet the demand.

Nick Marston, chairman of British Berry Growers, said: “Generally, yields will be a bit lower as berries ripen faster and don’t quite make the same size as if the berries were left to grow longer.

“However, the fast ripening creates a flush of crop which, if the good weather is maintained for a few days, which it has, then this meets an increased consumer demand.

“Usually, if the sun is shining then we see more Brits buying berries, outdoor entertaining, summer desserts etc, are all good berry buying occasions.”

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Paddleboarder
A paddleboarder in the water of Loch Lomond, just off the village of Luss (Andrew Milligan/PA)

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The 16-year-old boy who died in Bray Lake near Maidenhead in Berkshire on Monday has been named by Thames Valley Police as Sean Norbert Anyanwu.

He was described in a brief tribute by his family as “the light of the family … he was everything we could have asked for”.

They said: “We are devastated by his loss and we would ask for our privacy to be respected while we grieve.”

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A summer fire
Firefighters attend a fire on Dartford Marshes in Kent (Adrian Stirrup/PA)

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The heatwave has sparked a spending spree on summer essentials, with sales of fans, ice cream, paddling pools and burgers rocketing.

Waitrose has had its biggest week for ice creams, with sales up 36% year on year, while John Lewis’s sales of fans and air conditioning units are up 709% year on year.

Asda sold at least 4.5 million sausages and 1.4 million burgers last week, while charcoal sales increased by 400%.

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Earlier, the Prince of Wales voiced concern over the climate crisis amid the stifling heat:

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Fountains in Trafalgar Square
That’s one way to cool off: a woman is sprayed by fountains in Trafalgar Square (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

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Meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker says he saw a brief ‘dust devil’ – a whirlwind – in the park earlier.

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A man uses an envelope to shade himself from the sun in Chinatown, central London
A man uses an envelope to shade himself from the sun in Chinatown, central London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

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Sage advice from recently retired football manager (and cyclist, it seems) Neil Warnock, who has urged people to stay hydrated and healthy.

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The Met Office said temperatures in many other places of England had already exceeded the previous record of 38.7C from 2019 by 1pm on Tuesday.

As well as the 40.2C seen at Heathrow, Charlwood in Surrey hit 39.9C, Kew Gardens saw 39.6C and Wisley in Surrey recorded 39.3C.

Chertsey in Surrey and Northolt in west London both saw 39.2C.

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A woman sunbathes on the crowded beach at Brighton
A woman sunbathes on the crowded beach at Brighton (Gareth Fuller/PA)

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A swimmer is missing at sea and five others have been pulled from the water close to Clacton Pier in Essex, the Coastguard said.

Emergency services have been called to the scene and a major search and rescue is underway to find the man after six people got into difficulty off the coast.

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Less punishing – but no less spectacular – conditions were welcomed by people in the South West earlier today.

Lucy McRobert, communications manager for the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, told the PA news agency she first heard the “rumblings” of thunder and lightning early this morning.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been so relieved to see the sky go black and the rain start pouring,” she said.

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Fresher conditions are on the way for some parts, according to the Met Office:

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The River Lea
A man takes his dog for a paddle in the River Lea near Hackney Marshes in east London (Yui Mok/PA)

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Interim deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin, said the heatwave was having an impact on urgent and emergency care and some planned care.

She said: “Across the country we are seeing hospitals having to scale back the number of planned surgeries as operating theatres are too hot.

“Trusts are having to install industrial cooling units, mounting fans, and trying to cool down IT server rooms.”

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Woman in the sea
Marisa Santos cools off in the sea in Bournemouth (Steve Parsons/PA)

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Despite the hottest day on record in the UK, the Queen carried on with her royal duties.

The 96-year-old welcomed the new US ambassador Jane Hartley from the safety of inside Windsor Castle during the virtual audience on Tuesday.

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BREAKING – The temperature has exceeded 40C in the UK for the first time on record, with 40.2C reported at Heathrow at 12.50pm on Tuesday, according to provisional Met Office figures.

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A man under an umbrella
This man has the right idea in central London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

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There were 90,592 visits to the heat exhaustion and heatstroke section of the NHS website on Monday – that’s equivalent to around 63 visits every minute.

NHS Digital also said that in total there have been 284,772 visits to the web page over the past seven days from July 12-18.

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BREAKING: A man in his 20s has died at the Cotswold Water Park, Wiltshire Police said.

Police were called shortly after 6pm on Monday and said the man was confirmed dead shortly after being pulled from the water. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

The park is an area of more than 40 square miles with 180 lakes.

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Along with Charlwood, in Surrey, two other places had surpassed the previous UK temperature record by noon on Tuesday, the Met Office said.

Kew Gardens, in west London, and Heathrow, west of London, both recorded temperatures of 38.8C, taking them over the 2019 high of 38.7C.