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Temperatures soar across the south

Love Lyme Regis A beach with hundreds of people on. There are lots of parasols and windbreakers. The photo is taken from a hill looking down. In the foreground there is a lamp post with an ammonite shape on it.Love Lyme Regis
woodywatch15 half a dozen yellow sunflowers on an allotment. The sky is blue and cloudless.woodywatch15
Hundreds of beach-goers flock to Lyme Regis in Dorset as temperatures hit 25C
Sunflowers bask in the heat as temperatures climb to 28C in Benson, Oxfordshire

Hot weather has swept across southern England, with Tuesday touted as the UK's hottest day of the year so far.

Temperatures peaked at 31.7C in Otterbourne, Hampshire and reached 25C at St Catherine's Point on the Isle of Wight.

Bournemouth Airport in Dorset recorded 30.9C, with Benson in Oxfordshire climbing to 29.5C and Reading University in Berkshire sweltering at 30C.

Southern England is expected to have a heatwave officially declared in the coming days, according to weather experts.

The Met Office defines a heatwave in the UK as when a location records a period of "at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold."

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the meteorological service for parts of Hampshire from 12:00 BST on Wednesday.

From 01:00 until 23:59 on Thursday, the yellow weather warning has been extended across the entire south region, including Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

The MET Office has warned of possible power cuts, flooding and difficult driving conditions.

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