By Thomas Mackintosh
BBC News
The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to soldiers who took part in a military parade in soaring temperatures in London which reached 30°C (86F).
A number of troops appeared to faint in the hot weather during the Colonel’s Review at Horse Guards Parade, ahead of King Charles III’s birthday celebrations next Saturday.
Prince William acknowledged the “difficult conditions” in a tweet as he praised them for “doing a really good job”.
It comes as the UK Health Security Agency issued a hot weather alert for much of south England and the Midlands.
The BBC’s lead weather presenter Simon King said temperatures hit 30.4°C in Northolt, west London, and Wisley, Surrey – making Saturday the hottest day of the year so far.
He added that it is the earliest date in the year the UK has hit 30°C for a decade.
Temperatures in Auchincruive, Ayrshire, reached 27.6°C – making it the warmest day of the year in Scotland too. Firefighters 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.
By contrast, a weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued for the whole of Wales over the weekend – this comes after Friday saw a high of 29.8C (85F) in Porthmadog.
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