Hotter than Morocco

London was set to swelter in temperatures above 30C today as forecasters predicted the hottest day of the year so far.

The capital was expected to be hotter than Morocco, with temperatures rising above 30C and in many areas even topping 2003's previous high of 30.5C.

A spokesman said: "We are looking at several places turning out the highest temperature of the year, which we recorded in Shepshed in Leicestershire back in June - and it looks like we will exceed that."

It would put Britain on course for its hottest summer since 1976, with June already the warmest month since then and the fifth warmest in a century. Bookmakers are offering the lowest-ever odds on temperatures hitting 100F this year.

Other areas are expected to be even hotter than the South-East today. A Met Office spokesman said: "There is a possibility 30.5C will be beaten in London, but the capital certainly won't be the warmest place in the UK. We expect to get the highest temperatures in the Worcestershire area - at least 33C."

Forecasters expect the heatwave to continue into the middle of the week, when temperatures dip to the mid-twenties before rising again at the weekend.

The Met Office spokesman said: "It's going to get cloudy on Wednesday and Thursday, but temperatures will stay in the mid- to high twenties. By next Friday we'll be back to where we are now." London baked in temperatures yesterday that hit 28C in Northolt, beating the Canary Islands by one degree. In central London they reached 26C, six degrees above Beijing and Tokyo. On Saturday, the capital was the hottest place in the country, approaching 29C.

The rush to the sea caused jams on the M25 clockwise yesterday and frustrated motorists endured 11-mile tailbacks after a caravan overturned at junction two of the westbound M27.

Brighton's sea-front was packed and 60,000 people swamped the seven miles of Bournemouth beach, where a teenage swimmer was killed when he was hit by a speedboat 400 yards off-shore.

The body of a man believed to be in his mid-twenties and from London was found washed up on the beach in Hove on Saturday. Police said he had got into difficulties while swimming.