Europe heatwave - live: Met Office records hottest day of the year in UK and France declares first ever 'red alert' as temperatures continue to soar

The Met Office says UV levels will be very high across England and South Wales.– especially in the early afternoon.

Wear a top, a hat and carry sunscreen!

It won’t be sunny and scorching hot everywhere… The Met Office says thunderstorms could develop in southeastern Scotland and northeastern England throughout the day.

It’s now official. Today is the hottest day of the year so far after temperatures reached 30.8C in Charlwood.

Britons unused to the scorching weather will need to take precautionary measures to ensure they don't suffer from heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

My colleague Sabrina Barr has put together a useful guide to what you need to know:

Meanwhile, a wildfire that broke out on Tuesday in Catalonia is still ravaging the area, and authorities are saying it has become the most serious fire the region has seen in 20 years.

Catalan firefighters say the situation is “critical” and firefighters are currently “defending themselves” from the fire.

Miquel Buch, the Catalan interior minister, says 21 people involved in firefighting duties required medical assistance overnight.

“We are in the worst hours of the day,” the Catalan firefighters said on Twitter. “We are containing the fire. In the coming hours, firefighters will go from defending themselves to attacking the fire. The situation is still critical.”

Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control, but wind and sizzling temperatures could give the blaze fresh impetus. Spanish forecasting office AEMET says temperatures have risen to 41C again in Tarragona.

The cause of the wildfire is thought to be a pile of manure that spontaneously combusted after temperatures soared to 44C.

In France's southwestern Gard region, where France's highest temperature on record was registered yesterday at 45.9C, scores of fires burned some 600 hectares of land and destroyed several houses and vehicles.

More than 700 firefighters and 10 aircraft were mobilised to tackle the fires in the Gard, some of which caused sections of motorways to be temporarily closed. Several firefighters were hurt but no serious injuries were reported.

French media said a man had been arrested for deliberately starting fires in one Gard village.

Temperatures are still above 40C in southwestern France, and forecasters say the heatwave won't end before tomorrow evening.

Paris is experiencing the hottest day of the heatwave today – it's 36C there.

Here's a quick recap of all new records and facts about this heatwave:

• France: Temperatures set a new record high in France yesterday, smashing the previous one. it was 45.9C in Gallargues-le-Montueux, but at least 12 French towns broke the previous record-high of 44.1C. Paris banned driving older cars to curb heatwave-related pollution. 

• Spain: Today, unusually high temperatures above 43 degrees were forecast across Spain – for the fourth day in a row. A pile of manure caught fire and developed into Catalonia's most severe fire in the last 20 years.

• Germany: June 2019 was the hottest and sunniest month since records began. Some 51 observing stations recorded new June temperature records, including the highest-ever: 38.6 °C on 26 June.

• Austria had its warmest June on record, 4.5C above the long-term average for the month.

• Italy: The heat killed at least three people, while hospitals in Milan saw a 35 per cent rise in emergency visits due to heat-related conditions.

• Switzerland: More than half of Switzerland’s observing stations measured new June temperature records on Wednesday.

The World Meteorological Organisation say this prolonged, stifling heatwave is “absolutely consistent” with extremes linked to the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.

Temperatures have hit 33C in Heathrow and Northolt, the Met Office says.

The 33C recorded earlier today sets a new record temperature for 2019, and the mercury is expected to keep rising.

Readings of 33C were taken at Heathrow and elsewhere in west London.

The Met Office said temperatures are expected to rise as high as 34C – falling just short of the 35.6C June record set in 1976.

Meanwhile, the beach is packed in Bournemouth…

Some 75,000 people are expected throughout the day. Roads are gridlocked into the Dorset town and there are huge queues for ice cream stands and inflatable toys.