Forecasters say temperature could soar to 30C later this week, the earliest date the high would have been reachedThe UK experienced its hottest day of the year so far on Tuesday and temperatures could reach 30C at the earliest point on record later this week, forecasters said. The highest temperature recorded on Tuesday was 24.9C in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, according to the Met Office. The previous hottest day this year was 24.5C recorded in St James’s Park, London, on Monday. The Met Office, which warned last month that the climate crisis is pushing temperature extremes to new levels, said temperatures could hit 27C or 28C on Wednesday in southern England and the Midlands. In a further sign of the changing climate, Wales could also set a new record for its highest April temperature – currently 26.2C. Meteorologist Craig Snell said the most likely places to see the warmest weather on Wednesday were “in a line from London over towards the West Country and into the Midlands”. Snell told the PA news agency: “The central southern parts of the UK are probably going to be where the highest temperatures will be tomorrow.” He said Thursday would be “the peak of the heat”, adding: “We are likely to see 28C or 29C, and again it’s going to be a corridor from the west of London over towards Bristol which will probably be the most likely places to see the highest temperatures.” The meteorologist said the high temperatures on Thursday would result in one of the “warmest starts to May on record”. Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said April temperatures in the mid-20s were “not particularly unusual” but added: “It is more unusual to see temperatures reach the high 20s, and if we see 30C this week, it will be the earliest point in the year in which we