Northern Ireland misses out on the heat, as the UK hits early April temperatures not seen for 80 years

Temperatures reached a high of 26.5C in Kew Gardens, south-west London – the hottest day recorded at this time of year since 1946, the Met Office said.

It comfortably surpassed this year's previous warmest day, recorded on Tuesday, when temperatures hit 24.8C in Mona, on the island of Anglesey in Wales.

London was also hotter than popular holiday destinations around the Mediterranean Sea, including Ibiza, Rome and Marrakech.

But Northern Ireland’s highest temperature today was a far milder 15.4C, recorded in Co Down and much more in line with typical weather seen in April.

A Met Office spokesman told the News Letter that’s because a cold front moving southwards brought clouds and cooler air to the province, meaning there wasn’t a chance Ulster would bask in the same heat.

It won’t stop here, however, as the front will continue over the rest of the UK, bringing the heat from the past couple of days to an end.

Despite the high temperatures, the Met Office has said that this week's weather does not meet its definition of a heatwave, which requires temperatures to exceed region-specific thresholds of 24C and 27C for at least three consecutive days.

A Met Office meterologist told the Press Association: “Temperatures even into the mid-20s are very uncommon at this time of year.

"It has been very, very warm, but it is a brief peak in the heat, with temperatures for most of the UK considerably lower [on Thursday].”