London is set for a glorious end to the week with temperatures forecast to hit 22C in the capital - warmer than a string of holiday hotspots in Greece and Spain.
The Met Office is forecasting 22C for London on Friday afternoon as the sunny start to April continues.
Some parts of central England may hit 24C as weather "nearer to what we'd expect in July" continues, the Met Office said.
That would likely make Friday the warmest day of the year so far - topping the highs of 21.3C recorded in Northolt, west London, and Chertsey, Surrey on the spring equinox (March 20).
Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin said Friday temperatures said: “Generally speaking, the dry and the fine and the sunny weather will continue.
“In the south, Friday is likely to see the peak of the temperatures this week: 21, 22, it might even squeak up to 23C.”
He said there would be a sharp contrast in temperatures between the southern England and much Scotland, where it will struggle to get into double digits, but added: “For many it will be a fine and sunny day.”
London is expected to be warmer than a host of southern European destinations on Friday.
What does the weather have in store over the next 10 days? Find out in this week's 10-day trend with Alex Deakin. pic.twitter.com/Av35hOhTD9
— Met Office (@metoffice) April 2, 2025
The Met Office is forecasting 18C for Barcelona and Ibiza, and 19C on the Greek island of Crete. Meanwhile the southern Portuguese city of Faro is expected to reach 18C.
Spain is braced for some turbulent weather in the coming days, with Storm Nuria triggering a red alert for strong winds in the Canary Islands.
The pleasant start to April comes after England enjoyed its sunniest March on record, along with its sixth driest, as persistent high pressure brought long spells of clear weather.
Some 185.8 hours of sunshine were measured across England, 59% more than the long-term average, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
This beats the previous record of 171.7 hours set in 1929.
Wales saw its second sunniest March, with 53% more hours than average.
Scotland and Northern Ireland also saw an above average amount of sunshine, at 20% and 13% respectively, though neither nation came close to record levels.
Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said: “Persistent high pressure, along with a lack of fronts arriving from the west, has meant that many have enjoyed a warm, dry and very sunny March.
“At the beginning of the month, some areas of Cumbria reached 19C for example and although temperatures have dipped at times, many have continued to enjoy some warm spring sunshine.”
Across the UK as a whole there were 158.1 hours of sunshine, the third highest total recorded for March, behind 165.5 hours in 2022 and 166.9 hours in 1929.
It comes as firefighters have been tackling major blazes in Scotland and Dorset.
Mr Stroud said wildfires have hit the country after a dry period in March.
In Scotland, crews have been fighting a large grass fire at Gartur Moss in Port of Menteith, Stirling.
The alarm was raised around noon on Wednesday and four fire engines remained at the scene on Thursday morning.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said the blaze stretched half a kilometre.
It added that a "very high to extreme" risk of wildfire remains across the country until Monday and urged the public not to light fires outdoors.
