UK heatwave: RAF Coningsby registers UK's hottest ever temperature

Records have tumbled across the country. Credit: PA

Temperatures in Lincolnshire have hit 40.3C – the highest figure ever recorded in the UK.

The milestone mark was registered at RAF Coningsby at 3pm on Tuesday, 19 July.

It exceeds the 40.2C figure recorded at Heathrow Airport earlier.

At that stage, the Met Office tweeted: "For the first time ever, 40 Celsius has provisionally been exceeded in the UK. London Heathrow reported a temperature of 40.2C at 12.50pm today."

Forecasters warn it is likely to get even hotter throughout the day, with temperatures as high as 41C predicted as much of England remains under its first ever red extreme heat warning.

It comes after what was a new record high of 38C was measured at Coningsby earlier.

In Yorkshire, a temperature of 37.5C was recorded in Sheffield on Tuesday, beating the 36.7C registered at Bramham near Leeds a day earlier.

The previous record temperature for Yorkshire was 36C, in Wakefield three years ago. Lincolnshire's previous record, also in 2019, was 36.3C.

Britain's "exceptional" heatwave has already broken several weather records, with Monday night seeing the highest daily minimum temperature ever recorded.

Temperatures didn't fall below 25C in places - exceeding the previous highest daily minimum record of 23.9C recorded in Brighton on August 3, 1990.