Temperatures top 21C to make it hottest day of 2025 so far
The highest temperature recorded was 21.3C in both Northolt, west London, and Chertsey, Surrey, the Met Office said.
The UK has basked in its warmest day of the year so far as temperatures topped 21C on Thursday’s spring equinox.
The highest temperature recorded was 21.3C in both Northolt, west London, and Chertsey, Surrey, the Met Office said.
It beat this year’s previous top figure of 19.7C in Crosby, Merseyside, on March 9 and was just shy of the highest recorded UK spring equinox temperature of 21.5C in 1972.
The previous warmest spring equinox in Wales was 20.3C recorded in Valley in 2005.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: “It has been a fairly pleasant day, right across the board.
“Sunshine has been the best down across the south, hence, we have kind of seen the highest figures there.
Some fine weather was also enjoyed in Northern Ireland on Thursday where the top temperature was 17.1C in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, and in Scotland where figures peaked at 16.1C in Auchincruive in Ayrshire.
Sunseekers may be disappointed as temperatures are set to dip back to the averages for this time of year of around 11-12C in the coming days.
Mr Snell said “things are kind of “changing”, adding: “The weather will turn more unsettled, and then, because of that, temperatures then will begin to fall away, back down to nearer to where they should be for the time of year as we go into the weekend.
“I think today will probably be the peak of the temperatures and then it does turn a bit more unsettled.”
The other equinox is in September and both mark the sun crossing the equator.
Day and night are therefore about the same length.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said “at 9.01am this morning, the spring equinox occurred, that means the northern hemisphere is now tilted towards the sun”, and it feels spring-like as “warmer air is dredged up from the south” around an area of low pressure.
A frost-free night is expected as the cloud and breeze builds up but sheltered parts of northern England and Scotland could see a touch of frost in the early hours.
A milder start to the day, compared with recent mornings, is expected on Friday, when it will be wetter in some places.
Mr McGivern said: “South-western parts of the UK will see showers from the word go, perhaps even a rumble of thunder, though showers will move into west Wales, Northern Ireland, western Scotland, through the day as well.”
In a marked change compared with the week so far, it will become fairly breezy in the east and across higher parts of Scotland but with “temperatures still above average” and it will still be “a warm day, but not quite as warm as Thursday”.
