Barcelona-like heat will not last

Temperatures peaked at 15.8C in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, on Saturday, and were expected to rise to between 18-19C in the South East today.

However, showers are forecast this week, which could see Saharan dust dumped on the UK.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: “On Thursday, dust from the Sahara region was lifted up into the atmosphere. At the moment, certainly across the south of the UK, we’ve got southerly winds that’s allowed that dust to transport northwards towards the UK. And with outbreaks of rain developing at times over the next couple of days, some of that will get washed out of the atmosphere and give a slight deposit of dust on cars.”

In Yorkshire, patchy rain is expected tomorrow with showers later on possibly turning thundery. The temperature is expected to reach 12C.

The Met Office predicts the showery conditions to last much of the week, possibly turning heavier on Wednesday.