Hottest June day record broken against as temperature passes 37C

The UK record for the hottest day in June was broken for a third day in a row on Friday, with temperatures reaching 37.3Cin Suffolk, the Met Office has said.

Temperatures are still rising and the meteorological agency said that record could be broken yet again before the day ends.

The heatwave has resulted in travel disruption, schools and tourist attractions closing, while six NHS trusts have declared critical incidents after being overwhelmed with emergency patients.

As temperatures are expected to fall over the weekend, a yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued for parts of northern England, as well as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The provisional hottest June temperature was recorded in the the village of Santon Downham.

It surpassed the high of 36.7 in Merryfield, Somerset, on Thursday, which itself had broken the 36.1 recorded in Gosport, Hampshire, the day before.

All four nations have this week experienced their highest temperatures of the year so far, with parts of England and Wales experiencing a "tropical night" on Thursday.

The heatwave - which has affected other parts of Europe - is being driven by a "heat dome", an area of high pressure that traps heat, settling over western Europe.

While it is hard to link climate change to individual extreme weather events, scientists say climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and intense.

Red warnings for extreme heat - meaning there is a population-wide risk of adverse health affects or danger to life - will remain in place across London, the east and the south east until 21:00 BST on Friday, with highs of 35-37C forecast.

The high humidity accompanying the heat has exacerbated the potential for health impacts, the Met Office said.

There are also amber heat warnings in place until Saturday evening for south-west England.

Londoners - including fit, young people - have been told to skip exercise until temperatures cool, while Parisians have been warned off drinking alcohol, as extreme heat puts physical strain on the body that can be worsened by both.

As well as the NHS dealing with an increase in emergency patients suffering heat-related illnesses, Dr Hilary Williams, clinical vice-president at the Royal College of Physicians, said MRI machines and scanners had been affected by the heat.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "basic ward infrastructure" had been unable to cope, adding: "The patients are far too hot, we're hearing reports of elderly care wards way over 30C."

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) had seen "about a 50%" increase in 999 calls during the heatwave, its head Jason Killens told the BBC, a trend he said would be seen "across the country".

The service took its highest ever number of "immediately life-threatening" calls on Wednesday.

Killens said LAS had "thrown the kitchen sink" at the situation, including cancelling all non-essential training and non-essential meetings to deploy more staff to the front line.

Meanwhile, National Rail has urged people to "only travel if absolutely necessary" as rail infrastructure struggles to cope with the heat.

Transport for London said Tube and rail services faced continued disruption, as pavement temperatures in the capital reached up to 57C.

The Automobile Association (AA) said it received 14% more callouts than usual on Thursday for broken-down vehicles.

This reflected "the continued pressure that high temperatures are placing on drivers and their vehicles", said Tony Rich, the AA's road safety spokesperson.

More than 600 schools in England either completely or partially closed due to the heat on Friday, among the more than 2,400 schools in England and Wales that shut their doors this week.

London's Tower Bridge, Cutty Sark and Royal Observatory have closed to visitors, as has Marwell Zoo in Hampshire. Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Legoland Windsor are allowing people to swap tickets for a different day.

South East Water has announced a temporary hosepipe ban for around 850,000 people living in Kent due to "high temperatures and record demand".

Firefighters have been tackling a wildfire in Derbyshire that has affected around 200 hectares (990 acres) of land on Tintwistle Moor since Wednesday.

Police in Leicestershire who had been searching for a missing boy reported to have entered a lake have recovered a body.

Authorities have reissued warnings about the hidden risks of entering bodies of water.

Storms could cause further disruption in the coming days. Edinburgh Airport said it was dealing with the "knock-on impacts" of disruption caused by severe thunderstorms overnight and on Friday morning.

Parts of the UK have not seen temperatures dip below 20C overnight - known as "tropical nights".

Friday night will be less warm than Thursday night, but south-east England and East Anglia could experience another tropical night.

Yellow thunderstorm warnings are in place for north-west England, Scotland and Northern Ireland overnight.

The Met Office has told people to prepare for potential heavy rain, large hail, wind and frequent lightning strikes.

There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with possible cancellations and delays affecting public transport, it said.