York will be hotter than Madrid today as it enters May in warm sunshine.
It is set to be the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures in the city reaching a high of 26°C.
That’s warmer than Madrid (24°C), Lisbon (21°C) and Athens (24°C).
Hundreds of people were basking in the sunshine yesterday.
Riverside bars on King’s Staith were packed, and parks including Museum Gardens were filled with families and sunbathers.
Despite the soaring temperatures, the Met Office has ruled out a heatwave this week.
Mr Silverstone said it looks “unlikely” the UK will reach a heatwave – which is defined as three consecutive days of temperatures exceeding the “heatwave threshold”, which varies across the country.
The threshold is 25C for most of the UK, rising to 28C in London.
Nationally, though, the UK could face the warmest start to May on record, with Met Office meteorologist Michael Silverstone saying temperatures could climb to “29C or even 30C”.
He added: “If we reach 30C on Thursday, it will be the earliest date in May that the UK has seen 30C since our records began in 1860.”