Hot Weather: Scotland Reaches Heatwave Temperatures

Scotland is now officially experiencing a heatwave after an extended period of hot weather, the Met Office confirmed on Monday.

A number of weather stations across the country have reached 25C or above for three days in a row.

Temperatures in Auchincruive, South Ayrshire, reached 29.8C on Saturday – making it the warmest day of the year in Scotland.

And the warm weather is set to continue for the next week.

Hot spots across the country include Eskdalemuir and Threave in Dumfries and Galloway, and Aviemore.

While people have enjoyed the rising temperatures, firefighters have warned of an increased risk of wildfires.

On Saturday, the fire service tackled a wildfire which broke out south of Inverness in the Daviot area, with local residents advised to keep windows and doors closed because of smoke.

The blaze was about 30 miles (48km) from Cannich – the site of another recent wildfire thought be the largest recorded in the UK.

The Met Office forecasts that next week the risk of thundery downpours will continue in some areas and temperatures are likely to remain above average.

It has extended the yellow warning for thunderstorms in western Scotland until Tuesday at 21:00.

Sepa has also warned of significant water scarcity in the Loch Maree area of the Highlands, and moderate scarcity in Ness in the Highlands and Esk in Dumfriesshire.