Last day of unusually warm temperatures before cooler weather returns

Wednesday may well feel like a typical summer’s day rather than an early April one, as warm, sunny weather continues in many places.

On Tuesday the UK saw a peak of 25C (77F) at Mona on Anglesey, Wales, which made it the highest temperature reached so far this year and the warmest day in the UK for six months. However, temperatures could nudge as high as 26C (79F) in some places on Wednesday.

Rising temperatures accompanied by sunny skies and very high pollen levels are anticipated for many of us.

However, make the most of this unusually warm weather because on Thursday all will change and things will feel cooler.

Most of England and Wales will be dry and sunny again on Wednesday with the warmth being brought to us from the near continent on a gentle south to south-easterly breeze.

Some cloud will move into parts of northern England and Wales, especially in the afternoon, and it won’t be as warm along western coasts.

The focus of the highest temperatures on Wednesday will be the Midlands, East Anglia and south-east England, possibly reaching 26C (79F) in some localised spots.

This is around 10C above average for early April.

The last time before this week that 25C or more was recorded in the UK was 19 September 2025, when temperatures actually peaked at 27.8C at St James’s Park, London.

Around this time in April in 2017 and 2020 25C (77F) was recorded, but last year that temperature was not reached until the last day of the month.

The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK in April was 29.4C (84.9F) measured in London in 1949.

There is some way to go to beat that but spring is the fastest warming season due to climate change.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be as warm. The cloud will break to give some sunshine and temperatures could still reach as high as 18C (64F) in eastern Scotland.

The weather pattern will change significantly on Thursday and temperatures as a result will be lower.

A band of rain will push south-eastwards across the whole country to be followed by sunshine and showers and a north-westerly wind.

This change in wind direction will bring in much cooler air and temperatures will therefore noticeably drop to around 10 to 14C (50-57F) across most areas.

However, ahead of the rain, temperatures in East Anglia and south-east England could still reach 20C (68F).

High pressure pushes back in on Friday to bring dry weather and sunshine back to England and Wales and temperatures of 12-15C (54-59F). Cloud, rain and much stronger winds will return to western Scotland and Northern Ireland and herald a change to a more changeable weather pattern.

You can keep up to date with the longer range forecast here.

With the increased sunshine and higher temperatures, pollen levels have risen too.

In England and Wales the pollen level will be very high again on Wednesday and high still over parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

At this time of year tree pollen, and particularly birch, is the main reason why people may be suffering from hay fever.

Tree pollen affects 25-35% of hay fever sufferers and typically runs from March to early June for most trees.

In response to the change in the weather, pollen levels will be lower in Scotland, Northern Ireland on Thursday but remain high or very high in England and Wales.