UK to be hotter than Athens as temperatures could reach 20C on 'hottest day of the year so far'

The hottest day of the year so far was 19.2C in London earlier in March, according to the Met Office.

Temperatures are set to peak on Wednesday, potentially reaching 20C in the west of Wales.

It comes after strong winds caused travel disruption across much of the country over the weekend, with gusts of up to 70mph.

Read more: Such a beautiful horizon! Britain hotter than Barcelona as temperatures reach 18C

Ollie Claydon, spokesperson for the Met Office, said: “The peak temperature and mildest day of the week will be on Wednesday.

“It is likely to be the warmest day of the year so far, potentially reaching 20C in places.

“We can expect high teens broadly across the rest of England and Wales. This weather is not a surprise as we move into spring.

“There will be lots of sunshine around Wales and England and there could be mist and fog in places but it will burn off throughout the day.

“The warm weather is due to an area of high pressure that is going to establish in the north of the UK.

“The early spring temperatures will drop overnight, this is known as a large diurnal range, and it means there will still be spots of frost in rural England and Wales.”

In the UK, meteorological spring begins on March 1 and ends on May 31.

The sunny forecast is also driven by warm southerly winds and high pressure, as well as a phenomenon known as the Foehn effect, forecasters said.

The Foehn effect is caused by a passage of east to south-easterly winds which move over areas of higher ground.