Enlarge imageLONDON (Reuters) - The temperature in London has hit 36 degrees Celsius and forecasters say it would get hotter still tomorrow, possibly breaking the magic 100 Fahrenheit mark for the first time since records began.
The Meteorological Office said temperatures in the southeast on Saturday were on a par with those recorded last Wednesday when the thermometer hit a year-high 36.4 degrees Celsius (97.5 Fahrenheit) in Kent, east of London.
"Met Office forecasters suggest temperatures could be a degree or so higher somewhere in the southeast on Sunday, so the UK’s highest recorded temperature is under threat again," the office said in a statement.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Britain is 37.1 degrees Celsius in Cheltenham on August, 3 1990. One hundred degrees Fahrenheit is 37.7 C.
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
Saturday’s searing temperatures sent millions of Britons scuttling to the country’s beaches to make the most of a heatwave that has pushed up beer sales and given Brighton its best season for two decades.
Traffic was heavy on coastal roads. Motoring organisations said that around 15 million motorists, a fifth more than usual, were on the move.
Tourist chiefs in Brighton said it was their best summer in 20 years, with an estimated eight million visitors.
Bookmakers offered even odds that the 1990 record would be broken this weekend and 6-4 odds that the 100-Fahrenheit mark would be breached.
"We are sweating more than most in the heatwave, with a payout of up to 250,000 pounds imminent if the 100 degree barrier is reached," a spokesman for bookmakers William Hill said.
But for brewers the continued heatwave was good news. The industry said it expected to sell an extra two million pints of beer this weekend, up four percent on normal sales.
Thames Water said customers were using 300 million litres a day above the average for the rest of the year. High rainfall during the winter means there is no risk of a hose pipe ban.
The Met Office said the weather would hold until Monday or Tuesday when thunderstorms will herald the start of a slightly cooler period.
