Updates from Thursday 25 July 2019
UK has hottest July day on record, with 38.1C recorded at Cambridge
"Heat-related incidents" cause train delays and cancellations across UK
Europe is also experiencing the heatwave, with Paris reaching 40.6C
Network Rail warns of disruption where tracks are at risk of buckling
Forecasters say the heat could lead to downpours in some areas
A gown and mortarboard are probably not ideal for the scorching temperatures we're experiencing.
But you haven't got much of a choice when you're graduating, like these Bishop Grosseteste University students in Lincolnshire.
Luckily they're out of the heat during the ceremony and inside the much cooler Lincoln Cathedral.
People are being urged to help vulnerable friends, relatives and strangers in the heat.
Age UK has issued guidance for older adults, external to stay safe while homeless charities are handing out water and sun cream.
Shelter has issued the below advice on how to help rough sleepers during the heat.
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Do you like maps? Do you like talking about the weather? Do you like maps talking about the weather?
Then hopefully this will be right up your street.
Staff at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford are being treated to free ice creams.
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And it looks like Wycombe Wanderers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa would find a slice of the ice very nice.
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Andy Giddings
BBC News
The big cats at West Midland Safari Park are keeping cool today with the help of specially made ice lollies and inflatable toys, provided by the staff.
The lollies are a mixture of meat frozen in water and blood and have been hidden around their habitats, so they can discover them.
Image source, West Midland Safari ParkThe inflatable toys have been placed around pools, to encourage the lions and tigers to take a dip.
Image source, West Midland Safari Park
Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online
Temperatures have reached 35.1C at Heathrow, the hottest day this year.
In fact, its the hottest day for the UK as a whole apart from Jersey, which reached 36C on Tuesday.
Image source, The Met OfficeIt now means the last three days have each been the hottest of the year (again, with the exception of Jersey), with temperatures reaching 34.3C in Writtle, Essex, yesterday.
The Met Office expects today to be the hottest ever with a 60% chance of temperatures reaching 39C in south east England.
Wales and Scotland are forecast to hit 29C.
Jessica Labhart
BBC News
And it's not just spuds...
It's proving hot in snack vans up and down the land.
Anne has been working in one such van in Birmingham since 06:00 and said the thermometer was showing 32C even before 10:00.
"I think I'm going to die! The cold drinks will sell really well though," she said.
"The water will just fly off the shelf."
Allen Cook
BBC News
Spare a thought in today's heatwave for those having to slave over a hot plate for their business.
In the middle of Stoke-on-Trent, Andrea, known locally as 'the potato lady' has been in her cabin in Hanley since 06:30 and it was 28C inside at 07:00.
"Don't think we'll sell many hot potatoes today," she said, "but drinks and hot dogs are selling."
There's no fan in the cabin but Andrea's making good use of her door.
"There's at least a bit of a breeze around this morning."
Are there some things you just can't do on the hottest day of the year?
Read More
Sandish Shoker
BBC News
Some people get all the fun jobs!
BBC Radio Nottingham presenter Sarah Julian and reporter Hayley Compton took the breakfast show to the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham today to try their hand at paddleboarding and the centre's inflatable obstacle course while on air.
And, of course, Sarah couldn't resist jumping in to cool off...
Allen Cook
BBC News
Who wouldn't want an ice cream on a day like today?
But in his van in the middle of Stoke-on-Trent, Joe Lewis is pretty glum.
"People aren't stopping like they used to," he says.
He's been on his spot in Hanley since 09:15.
Joe says it's "not the business it used to be in Stoke-on-Trent, not like past decades" but he's hopeful it might turn around later today.
Andy Giddings
BBC News
You know it's hot when cafes have to stop serving hot potatoes.
One of the BBC Weather Watchers spotted this sign in a window in Streetly this morning.
Image source, Summer Walks
Helen Astle
BBC East Midlands Today reporter
Here's one way to stay cool and have fun at the same time.
Apple-bobbing has been keeping these cows at Stonehurst Farm a-moo-sed during the heatwave.
The team at the animal park in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, has also been lathering pigs in sunscreen as temperatures rise.
The horses are being sprayed with a hose to keep cool.
Becky Fox from Bournemouth has some great tips for keeping little ones cool.
"One thing I use to do was fill up some bottles with some reusable ice cubes which have been in the freezer for little man to play with," she said.
"We do loads of water play outside, they always love this and get wet so stay cool. Then we do ice play, I’ll freeze loads of random items then get the ice cubes out for them to play with."
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Image source, Becky Fox
Image source, Becky Fox
Image source, Becky FoxDuncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online
This heatwave has come officially during the dog days of summer, which run from July to August.
Which, ahem, justifies all the pictures of dogs we are using. Honest.
Author Mark Forsyth explains the phrase's origins, external much better than I ever could on his Inky Fool blog, but basically it is to do with the Romans' belief that the heat of summer was caused by the conjunction of the sun and Dog Star (also known as Sirius) in the sky.
So with all that out of the way, here are some dogs, namely Boswell from Bournville and Buddy from Sutton Coldfield.
Image source, Kathryn Hamlett
Image source, Jackie DwyerMike Brockington tweeted the results of leaving a thermometer in the sun in Kent.
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Daniel Wainwright
BBC England Data Unit
The tinny music as it gets closer is the greatest sound in the world on a day like this but where can you find an ice cream van?
Across the UK 636 businesses out of the 22,471 registered "mobile caterers" have the words "ice cream" in their title, according to Food Standards Agency data.
Our research suggests the best bet for finding one might be in Fife, which has 16, or Bradford, with 12.
Of course, this doesn't include businesses that don't have the words "ice cream" in the title, even if they do a roaring trade in whippy or soft scoop goodness.
Image source, Getty Images
Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online
Hot weather does not necessarily mean a heatwave, certain thresholds have to be crossed, external before it officially becomes what the UK is currently enjoying/enduring.
The Met Office has made a handy video explaining the definition below, but in short it has to be over a certain temperature (this changes county to county) for three days in a row.
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Below is a map showing the temperature thresholds around the country, which have been worked out using the 1981-2010 climatology of daily maximum temperature at the mid-point of the meteorological summer (15 July).
Image source, Met Office/Crown CopyrightFeel free to fascinate your friends with this information down the pub - they might get you a drink just to shut you up.
As the country melts, it's good to see people aren't losing their sense of humour.
Read MoreManchester has a reputation as a city that gets more than its fair share of rain - but not today.
The Fiddes family are visiting from Aberdeen for son Dylan's birthday and said they didn't expect to be soaking up the sun.
"We have been very lucky," dad Michael said.