Parts of the country are seeing the hottest day of the year so far, with London and parts of East Anglia expected to climb to around 27C, according to forecasters. That puts the UK ahead of Honolulu, where temperatures are forecast to reach around 26C today.

The Met Office said the heat is significantly above average for this time of year, with conditions sitting roughly 10C higher than what is normally expected in early May.

Elsewhere, Cardiff is also set for an unusually warm day, with temperatures expected to reach around 19C, meaning the Welsh capital could end up warmer than Athens.

Despite the surge in temperatures, conditions still fall short of historical extremes, with London’s record April high standing at 29.4C, recorded in 1949.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge told the Press Association,

“We’ve got some very warm, humid air coming up from the south.”

He added that certain parts of the country would see the best of the conditions, saying,

“Very warm weather, particularly in the east and the South East, because there we’ll see the best of the sunshine.”

However, he warned that the warmth would not be universal across the UK, explaining,

“It doesn’t mean everybody’s going to get a warm, dry, beautiful day”.

He noted that some central and northern areas, including parts of Scotland, the Pennines and the Midlands, could see heavier rain and thunderstorms developing as weather systems move through.

As people reacted to the unusual heat online, one commenter said,

“Don't get too excited, it will be snowing tomorrow”.

Another wrote,

“A couple days of good weather and we start thinking we can compete with Hawaii. Why are we like this?”.

A third added,

“I'd still rather be in Hawaii or Athens”.

As the bank holiday weekend approaches, forecasters expect a change in conditions, with Saturday bringing a mix of sunshine and showers, followed by more persistent rain on Sunday.

Looking ahead to Monday, temperatures are expected to drop back closer to seasonal averages, with the north seeing around 11C to 12C and the south reaching up to 16C.

“So it will feel quite fresh and chilly compared to what we’ve had.”