Joy Dunlop
BBC Scotland Weather

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers

Yesterday was Scotland’s warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 24.4C (76F) in Aboyne in Aberdeenshire.

That made it the hottest April day in Scotland for the last six years.

But it didn't last for long, today is noticeably cooler as a cold front moves through the country.

This will give generally cloudy conditions, and produce showery outbreaks of rain at times, with cooler air moving in behind it.

As a result, temperatures today will be 8C to 11C lower than yesterday, with highs reaching 12C in north-east Scotland and 14C to 18C more widely elsewhere - closer to the average for early May.

Temperatures will further fall over the next few days, with generally cloudy and damp conditions and highs of only 8C to 9C in the north on Sunday.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Across the UK there are around 260 weather stations that are recognised by the World Meteorological Organization to give standardised weather observations - including temperature, humidity and rainfall.

These temperature measurements, which are comparable around the world, are taken at a height of 1.25 metres (4ft) above ground - roughly the height of a human’s head.

The thermometer housed in a Stevenson Screen - a white box with ventilation slats that allows the temperature to be taken in the shade. This device is Important because a thermometer placed in direct sunlight will be influenced by solar radiation - giving a higher reading than a thermometer where there are cloudy skies.

There are other standards about where the weather station is positioned so that it’s not influenced by other factors – such as near buildings or trees that could affect the readings.

Interestingly, a temperature of 28.1C (83F) was recorded at St James’ Park, London on Wednesday, but this has been rejected by the Met Office due to portacabins, barriers and generators for VE day preparations, reportedly reducing airflow to the site.

Mark Poynting
Climate reporter

It’s well-established that human-caused climate change is making spells of hot weather more likely.

The greenhouse gases released by burning fossil fuels and other activities are trapping extra energy in the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface, warming the planet.

And even seemingly small increases to average temperatures can shift heat extremes to much higher levels.

Hot days have already become more common in the UK.

Over the decade 2014-2023, days exceeded 28C more than twice as often as the 1961-1990 average, according to the Met Office.

Today’s high temperatures might not meet the Met Office’s official definition of a heatwave, and will fade as cooler air moves across the UK.

But as my BBC Weather colleague Simon King pointed out earlier, these temperatures are unusual for this time of year.

We've just had an update from our colleagues at BBC Weather, who've sent us some of the temperatures recorded around the country as of 12:00.

The highest temperature recorded so far today is 27C (81F) in Charlwood, Surrey.

Here's how it's looking in other parts of the UK:

• London: 25.7C
• Aberystwyth: 23.0C
• Portsmouth: 23.1C
• Salford: 22.8C
• Londonderry: 12.0C
• Shetland: 9.9C

We've got live cameras streaming from all of the above places (bar Charlwood) - just hit the watch & listen tab at the top of the page.

Jo Black
Reporting from a Buckinghamshire pig pen

Amy Griffith, 28, Livestock Manager at Thrift Farm, a visitor attraction near Milton Keynes, feeds Mary the Saddleback pig a watermelon to keep her hydrated, before spraying her down with the hose to keep her cool.

“Pigs can’t naturally sweat, so making sure it’s all behind her ears and all over her body to keep her cool throughout this hot weather," says Griffith, who adds that it is "full on" work to stop the animals overheating.

“We wash down the pigs, we give the donkeys their ice treats, the guinea pigs and rabbits have fans on. We give them iced water bottles to lean up against, try and make it as cool as we possibly can.

"We open the doors for the goats in the barn to make sure there’s a nice breeze through, we spend most of our day just checking every single animal that they’re as comfortable as they can be.“

According to NHS advice, when UV levels are elevated the best ways to stay safe are:

• spending time in the shade when the sun is strongest - between 11:00 and 15:00BST
• covering up with suitable clothing and wearing sunglasses
• using suncream which is factor 30 or above and offers at least 4-star UVA protection on your face, neck and other areas of exposed skin
• reapplying sunscreen regularly - check the instructions on the bottle
• making sure babies and children are protected

Global research shows people often miss parts of their bodies when putting on sunscreen, according to Dr Bav Shergill from the British Association of Dermatologists.

"People often forget the side of their nose - where I have seen a lot of skin cancer," he says.

Other areas which need to be covered include the temples and the upper chest.

As a guide, adults should aim to apply about six to eight teaspoons of sunscreen if covering the entire body.

• What are UV levels and how can you protect yourself?

While many of you may be celebrating today due to the warm weather, 1 May is also a significant for those who commemorate the ancient pagan festivals linked to the date, which honour the vitality of spring and the coming of summer.

That includes Morris dancers - traditional folk dancers - who have been performing in parts of the UK.

According to the National Trust, May festivities were first recorded in Ancient Rome and the most popular image associated with the date is dancing round the maypole.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EP

Image source, EPA

Image source, EP

Matt Taylor
BBC Weather

Cooler air arriving for all in the UK by tomorrow and through the bank holiday weekend may not be welcome news for those enjoying the heat, but it will improve the air quality.

Pollution levels have built up over the past few days as a result of the heat and lack of significant airflow, reaching moderate levels across much of the UK, according to forecasts from DEFRA and the Met Office., external

However, as a more northerly airflow develops across the UK and our air comes in from a cleaner the North Atlantic background pollution levels will drop back to low for all.

As temperatures rise around the country, here's BBC Weather presenter and meteorologist Simon King with the latest forecast:

Some of you have already been making the most of todays warm weather in different ways. Here are a few of the best images that we have seen so far:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Animals can also feel hot and bothered in the summer, particularly dogs as they‘re not able to cool down through sweating like humans. To keep pets safe and comfortable when temperatures soar, the RSPCA recommends the following:

• Never leave pets in hot cars, conservatories, outbuildings or caravans, even if it's just for a short while
• Using a pet-safe suncream on exposed parts of your pet's skin
• Making sure they have access to shade and to fresh water to keep them cool
• Put ice cubes in their water bowl
• Provide them with damp towels to lie on
• It’s best to walk a dog early in the morning or late in the evening when it‘s cooler, as paws can burn on a hot pavement

The charity also recommends checking pets for flystrike, external, a painful and sometimes fatal condition caused by flies laying their eggs on another animal.

Image source, PA Media

As our colleague Matt Taylor from BBC Weather has just reported, across southern England, the Midlands and Wales today, the pollen count is expected to be very high.

The main culprit triggering allergies this week is oak pollen, according to Dr Fiona Symon, an experimental officer in respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester.

She says: "Already we’ve seen more oak pollen than in any previous year since we started monitoring [in 2006]."

That means more people than usual are likely to be in the market for over the counter antihistamines.

To avoid symptoms, you should also keep doors and windows shut - including overnight - to keep pollen out of your home.

Dr Symon's other recommendations include opting for some trendy wraparound sunglasses to reduce the amount of pollen getting into your eyes, and putting vaseline around your nostrils to trap it.

Once you're home, change your clothes and take a shower to wash off the pollen, and avoid drying your clothes outside.

A 16-year-old boy has died after getting into difficulty while swimming in a lake in Nottingham.

Emergency services were called to Colwick Country Park when the boy went missing at 17:20 BST yesterday, Nottinghamshire Police says.

A police underwater search team and the fire service also responded, finding the boy's body just before 20:00.

"As in this tragic case, open water can have hidden dangers that can prove fatal and I would urge anyone who spends any time on or near open water to use this case as a devastating reminder of that – particularly during the recent warm weather we have been experiencing," Ch Insp David Mather from Nottinghamshire Police says in a statement.

Here's a reminder of how to stay safe in the water.

Matt Taylor
BBC Weather

You’ll have noticed how the sunny and warm conditions of the last week have helped plants and trees spring to life, while also encouraging us to get outside and enjoy the blue skies.

The downside to this for those with pollen allergies is the increase in pollen levels, bringing on hay fever symptoms.

Tree pollen remains the most dominant right at the moment, with oak pollen now also circulating.

Today, high or very high pollen levels can be expected across England and Wales, but levels will be much lower in Scotland and Northern Ireland due to increased cloud and a drop in temperature.

Image source, Getty Images

As we’ve been reporting, one piece of guidance for keeping cool (and safe) during hot weather is to wear loose-fitting clothing and breathable fabrics, such as cotton.

But what about school uniforms?

Government guidance on this, external states that schools “could consider relaxing uniform rules during hot weather to make sure pupils are comfortable”.

“Children should wear loose, light-coloured clothing to help keep cool and sunhats with wide brims. When outdoors, encourage children to stay in the shade as much as possible.”

However, no specific temperature for when this should be considered is given - and it is up to individual schools to decide how the rules are relaxed.

We know they have been relaxed in the past, but if you’re unsure about what you or someone you know should be wearing, get in touch with your school.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Image source, EPA

With strong May sunshine across England and Wales today, UV levels will be high.

Medium levels expected across Scotland and Northern Ireland, where there’ll be more cloud.

You can find out more about UV levels and our health here.

Analysis published a few weeks ago shows that spring is warming more quickly than other season in the UK, largely down to climate change.

A report by Climate Central, a research organisation, found that all four seasons are warming but at different rates.

The average spring temperature has increased by 1.8C since 1970, making it the fastest warming season for all four nations of the UK.

Autumn is the second fastest at 1.6C - as you can see from the graph below.

Image source, Getty Images

Andy Barr owns an 800-acre farm in Kent where he grows barley, wheat, beans and rapeseed. He has been telling BBC Radio 5 Live that the unseasonably hot weather is difficult to cope with.

“We’re having to do things in the fields very early and later in the evening to try and cope with the hot weather,” he says, adding that it also makes the crops “very stressed”.

“We [farmers] like nice boring weather. We like 21C, sunny and a bit of rain at night – not extremes.”

Barr says that what makes things more difficult is the changeability of the weather year to year. By the end of April last year, the area had seen around 150% of its annual rainfall. This year, it’s had as much as 12%.

“It’s tricky because, before last year, we were thinking it is getting hotter and warner every spring and we were faced with drought most springs and then last year we got an absolute deluge – we got exactly the opposite.”

One course of action farmers are considering is to grow crops that are traditionally found further south in Europe, but Barr says it takes time to build up business.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Temperatures are around 7 to 13C (13 to 23F) above the average for early May.

The red colours on the temperature anomaly chart below show the extent of the warmer-than-average weather across the UK and into mainland Europe.

Spring can bring big swings in temperature depending on the wind direction - a northerly will bring cooler than average and southerly, warmer than average.

But this week we’ve had an area of high pressure blocked over the UK, with a sustained south-easterly air flow bringing warmer air combined with other factors which act to warm the air further day-on-day.

Scientists believe these blocked weather patterns are becoming more frequent with climate change and that can lead to more extreme weather.

Data from the independent climate research group Climate Central suggests that temperatures this week have been made five times more likely by human-induced climate change.

If you feel like this has been a particularly warm few weeks, you’re not wrong.

On Wednesday, temperatures hit a high of 26.7C - for context, the highest April temperature ever recorded is 29.4C - which was reached in London on 16 April 1949.

This April has been the warmest in seven years because of a blocked weather pattern.

While our weather systems are largely driven across the Atlantic, bringing a variety of conditions, sometimes the pattern gets stuck.

This means the weather gets static over a particular area and changes happen slowly.

High pressure has become established close to the UK, blocking the progress of rain-bearing weather systems with the jet stream (atmospheric winds that drive the systems) diverted away from our shores.

As that area of high pressure drifts slowly eastwards it is opening the door to a feed of south or south-easterly winds, bringing warm air from continental Europe.